WoF: Lightning Striking
by Thegamersdragon
Summary: This is the story of Jack, an average high school student with your average family. However, as Jack finds himself in a strange new world, with himself turned into one of its inhabitants, will he have the courage to become a hero and help a group of dragons known as the dragonets of destiny stop a war? And will he be able to stop the mysterious force that brought him here?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I have read many stories in my life so far that involve some form of hero, whether they were meant to be that hero or not, come and save the day. When i read these stories, i have the thoughts like everyone else that i wish i could be like them, that i could have some of the characteristics that make them a hero, to be the one that ends up saving the day. I never expected that wish to come true., because i mean, who would?

However, in it's own way, it did. This is my story, i guess. You might want to get comfortable, cause this is going to be a long one.

Normally these stories start with some kind of abnormality, either with how the day goes, like a rainy day, or with the character, who might be popular or antisocial. I, however, was different. At the time, i was just your everyday ordinary highschool student. I looked normal, with average height and blown hair and brown eyes, and i had a few friends i would talk to. It was also a normal day; went to all my classes, ate lunch, talked with friends, all that jazz. So what exactly made this whole adventure begin? It all started on my walk home at the beginning of spring break…

"Are you sure you won't need a ride back?" I asked my sister over my cell phone. "Yes, i'll be fine, and i'll even call you on my way home. Sheesh, stop being paranoid." That was my younger sister, Sara. She was only a year younger than me, but i still looked after her, especially right now. Our parents were away on their first vacation in years, and they left me in charge of her. I was currently talking with her due to how she was going to be away at a friends house for a couple days due to spring break.

Honestly, even after everything that has happened, i still think my sister would have been more of a hero then me. She was a bit short, had long black hair and brown eyes, but she always got everyone to like her. She easily got along with anyone, and was actually pretty sweet. Sure, we had occasional sibling rivalry, but that was just normal for us. But then again, after some of what i have seen, i'm glad that i faced it and she didn't have to.

"Well alright then. See you in a couple of days, and if i'm not home just use your key. Bye." I hung up my phone and continued my walk. I do have a car that i occasionally drive, but on days like that day i just liked to walk home and enjoy the fresh air. The road was also empty, just giving me silence as i walked away from the school and in the direction of my house. It was nice for a while, just walking and listening to nature as the day goes by.

Now you're probably wondering when something exciting happens. Well that occured as i was around the halfway point and reached the small chunk of woods in between my house and the school. Now, you're probably wondering why there are woods and why i would go in there to get home. It involved the city not wanting to cut down all the trees and i had gone through it many a time as a shortcut home, so i thought nothing bad could happen.

However, as i walked deeper into the woods, i started to get a nervous feeling. I didn't know why, cause like i said, i had walked through these woods many a time, but there was just something...not right as i walked through those woods. Call it instincts if you want, but all i knew at the time was that i needed to get out of there, so i started walking faster, and then i was slightly running, and finally i was at such a full sprint that i didn't notice the sudden hole that was now underneath me.

Obviously, i was not expecting a hole that was big enough for me to fall into to suddenly appear under my feet, but that's just what happened, and as i fell into the darkness, all i could think about was what was happening. I fell for a while, giving me time to think, like why was this hole here, and would anyone ever find me, and if my family would be fine without me, and most of all, if i was about to die.

Next thing i know, i'm waking up on stone ground. My entire body ached, and i didn't want to move. But then i remembered where i was and forced myself to get up. It was pitch black, so i pulled out my phone which now had a giant crack in it and turned on a flashlight. I blinked a couple of times, my eyes adjusting to the light, as i looked around to see i was indeed in a cave. I pointed the light up, but to no avail could i see the top. _There is no way i could have survived that fall_ , i thought. I wasn't going to question it though, and instead focused on finding a way out.

My first thought was climbing, but as i looked around i saw an opening on one side of the walls, and i thought i could even see a faint light from it. Sure, going deeper into a cave isn't usually the brightest idea, but at the time i didn't have all too many options, so i decided to go deeper into the cave. It was a bit of a cramped fit at the top, so i leaned over and started to slowly make my way through the tunnel.

As the tunnel started getting longer, i was starting to wonder if i had made a mistake, and then i realized i could have tried to call someone. I sighed and thought that if the tunnel didn't lead anywhere, i would just go back and try that. For what seemed like twenty minutes, i walked, until the faint light i noticed seemed to be getting brighter. It was a yellowish blue light, like electricity, which gave me a silent hope, and it got so bright that i could turn off my phone. Finally, the tunnel ended and i was in another opening, and this one was _huge_.

A good way to describe the size of the chasm was to say a large school gymnasium, but in a circle shape and not a rectangle. The stone floor was strangely smooth and the walls had stalactites and stalagmites scattered in ways that seemed like columns, and as i looked closer at them i could see depictions of what looked like...dragons. I looked all around me, and i could make out depictions of at least seven different kinds of dragons, all of different shapes and sizes. Honestly, i was so struck with how the chasm looked, i didn't even notice right away the large podium in the center.

This podium was large, round, and had extremely detailed carvings on it, with depictions of fire, frost, and what looked like rain, though it was in a more splattered pattern. On the center of the podium sat a pedestal, and on top of the pedestal was the source of the light. It was some form of strange rock, and it shined so brightly that it lit the whole room, and yet i could look at it just fine. It was a silver color, and was jagged and shaped almost like a lightning bolt. There was also some kind of slate on the pedestal that had a form of writing on it, though i couldn't read it from where i was standing.

Now, i know what you're thinking, "He's going to touch that strange rock and then regret the actions that lead him up to that point." Technically, that is what happened, but not yet, due to how i had that same thought and originally thought better of it. I did however want to see what the pedestal slab read, so i walked up to the podium and brushed some dust that had collected on it. Thankfully, it was in english, so i was able to read it just fine. However, what it read didn't make sense at the time.

 _To be another body_

 _To be another shape_

 _One that can help anybody_

 _And see a new landscape_

 _A hero will rise, of clouds and lightning,_

 _To stop forces in a past most frightening,_

 _A prophecy already foretold_

 _With a new future now to be told_

 _Time rewritten, space shifted,_

 _Come forth, a hero truly gifted._

Honestly, i didn't know what to make of what i had just read. As i was still reading it to see if maybe it had any kind of secret meaning, i felt a sudden urge to touch the stone. Now, since i felt this urge, i tried everything i could to get away from the stone, but my feet wouldn't move, and my hand slowly rose up to touch it. I tried everything, meanwhile inside my head i was screaming at my arm to stop moving by itself. Finally, my hand fell against the stone, and for a second, i felt relief as nothing happened.

However, that relief soon turned into a cry of pain as it felt like i was being electrocuted from the inside out. Electricity surged out of the stone so fast and so heavily i could almost see the sparks flying and what looked like my hand start smoking. I tried to let go, but my hand was stuck around the stone, and as i flailed, only wanting the shocking to stop, i fell to the ground, the stone still in my hand. I wriggled furiously on the ground, almost like as if i was having a seizure, as more and more electricity ran through me.

As the world started to go dark, the same thought that occurred earlier happened again. _Was this how i died?_ Once again, i was shrouded in the dark abyss of my mind, maybe to never open them again.

 _Darkness. All around me was darkness. I looked around, wondering where i was. I couldn't see anything, and i couldn't hear anything either. The abyss grew larger and quieter, almost to the point where i thought i was about to go mad. Suddenly, i saw a spark of electricity shoot out of the ground. Next thing i knew, one spark after another were going off, all in a circle pattern all around me. The sparks started getting faster and more consistent, all the way to the point of a huge circle of electricity all around me._

 _All i could do was watch as the circle started to get smaller and the electricity moved even faster, to the point where it was just a blur. As the circle reached a point where it was only an arm's length away, the electricity filled the circle underneath my feet, and then just as suddenly disappeared, and i could feel myself falling again through the abyss._

 _Falling_

 _Falling…._

I woke up with a sudden jolt, throwing myself straight up. I rubbed my eyes as the sudden adrenaline rush faded away, before looking up and realizing that i was in the strange cavern still. I could see perfectly fine, and yet the source of light was gone. I then remembered what had happened, and i started searching the room for the strange rock. I couldn't seem to find it, and as i turned around, two things caught my eye. One, there seemed to be a large opening, almost like a doorway, in the center of the wall to my left. Secondly, out of the corner of my eyes, i thought i saw something low to ground slither away.

Deciding i had already dealt with enough for one day, i decided to not investigate and to instead just go through the opening. As i walked through, i noticed how new this tunnel looked, to the point where it looked like it was freshly dug out. I walked for about five minutes when i noticed the walking didn't feel… quite as normal. I shrugged it off, pinning it off on the fall i had taken, and pressed forward. I walked for what seemed to be another ten minutes until i heard what sounded like a river, and as i turned a corner, i was blinded by the brightness that was the sunlight.

I looked around, noticing i was still in a forest, though this wasn't the forest i was in previously. My forest didn't have these trees that were surrounding me, which were many times taller than i was, and it definitely didn't have a river and a mountain in it. I looked behind me to confirm my suspicions, and sure enough, a large mountain was facing back at me. I backed away, many questions racing through my head. I shook my head, trying to focus and rationalize things.

Sure, none of what had happened so far had made any form of sense, but i still wanted to try to think things through. So i thought clearly, and i realized that now that i was on the surface, i could use my phone. My gps would at least give me an idea of where i was, even if it didn't tell me how. However, as i reached down to grab my phone out of my pocket, i noticed that my hand not only didn't feel right, but it wasn't going into a pocket, and was rubbing against something... _scaly_.

I looked down, almost regretting it as i saw grey scales greet me. I stared at my hand in disbelief, seeing jagged looking silver claws, almost like the stone i had grabbed, waving back at me as i moved each one to see if they were actually mine. Next, i looked over my shoulder, to see two large, folded grey and silver wings greeting me, followed a swishing tail that i could feel from. As i stared in disbelief, i noticed that the scales weren't an ordinary grey either, they were the kind of grey you see when you look at clouds, and as i stared in disbelief, i could see they were actually shifting, the color slowly moving from one scale to another like a slow moving cloud.

I shuffled over to the nearby river, almost tripping on my feet as a finally stumbled over to it. I looked into the river with a dreadful feeling, and sure enough, a terrified dragon's face stared back at me. He had a medium sized snout, blueish white eyes like lightning, jagged horns like the stone from earlier, and small ears on either side of his head. I opened my mouth, and watched as his opened as well. I winked, and saw him wink. I stared for a long time, not sure how to react, before finally looking up into the sky and doing what needed to be done.

I shut my eyes and I screamed.

However, as i screamed i noticed a weird feeling in my chest and heard a strange crackling sound. Sure enough, when i opened my eyes, i found myself shooting pure lightning into the air. I quickly shut my mouth for two reasons; one, to stop shooting pure lightning into the air. Two, to stop alerting anyone nearby that i was around. If my instincts were telling me anything, it's that if i was dragon, there might be other dragons, and i didn't think i was ready for that yet.

I sat for a while, just thinking. _Why was this happening? How was it happening? Why me? What do i do?_ These thoughts passed through my head for the longest time. Finally, i decided it was time to stop sitting around and it was time to actually do something. What that something was, i didn't know. I decided i could at least try to figure this new body out, if i was going to be stuck in it. I sighed and suddenly felt all my weight go to my top half, and i started to fall to the ground.

I quickly pushed out my hands, and as i landed and stood there for a moment, i noticed that this position felt much better for walking. I sighed, remembering that dragons were quadrupeds, and started to walk around. After about five to ten minutes, i was satisfied that i could walk around properly. After that i decided to try to figure out my wings. After about ten minutes, i figured out how i could move them. Next came the tricky part.

However, as i started to slowly flap my wings, almost to a point where they were in time with each other and i could feel myself starting to rise up, i heard what sounded like branches snapping and voices talking to each other. I froze, not knowing what to do other than stand still and hope they passed by. "...I'm telling you, i saw something like lightning over this way." Said one voice. "And i'm telling you it's a bright and sunny day outside! There's no way there could be lightning in the middle of the…" Suddenly, he stopped talking, and as i looked towards where the voices were coming from, sure enough, two dragons were standing there.

These dragons were different forms of red and orange, and had long snouts, large wings, and were wearing some form of armor over their scales. While we stared at each other, the only category i could place them into was _soldiers_ , and that did not give me a comforting feeling. "Alright, guess you might have been right about something. You there, halt in the name of Queen Scarlet." I stayed frozen, not sure what to do as these two dragons approached me. They looked me up and down with a look of confusing eminent in their eyes as they seemed to study my every feature.

"What kind of dragon are you? Where did you come from? Are you some form of spy?" The soldier on the left quickly questioned me. "I...well i don't… i don't know…." I tried to spit out, still reeling in shock. The dragon on the right shook his head. "Alright, one at a time. What kind of dragon are you?" He said, almost glaring at me. "I don't know." Was all i could say. "Hmm, i don't like that answer. Let's see...scales are like a rainwings, shifting color and moving, yet the horns are like an icewings, and also his wings are as large as an skywings… what are you?" He asked again.

I stood there, giving no answer. The left dragon started hissing, glaring at me. "That doesn't matter. Tell me, are you a spy? Where did you come from?" I could see this was a kind of good cop, bad cop thing going on, and i didn't want to mess with bad cop. "I'm not a spy. I don't know where i am. All i know is that i came out of that tunnel, that's all." _And that i was once a human_. He glared at me harder. " _What tunnel_." he growled. I pointed and looked back, only to be shocked into silence.

The tunnel was gone. All i could do was stare at the smooth stone wall as the two dragons talked to each other. "Could have smacked his head into the wall whilst flying, thus all of the confusion." "Yeah, but that doesn't explain who he is or why he was here. We should give him to Queen Scarlet." "So she can do what, kill him in her arena and give his body to Burn? He's a confused dragon, and…" "You know how much trouble we would get into if we let him go. I agree with you, at least slightly, but we have to and you know it." I heard a sigh as they both turned towards me again.

"You're coming with us back to the sky kingdom. Queen Scarlet will decide what to do with you there." As he said this, the one on the left started pulling out a rope out of a pocket, supposedly to tie me with. Then i remembered what one of them had said. _So she can do what, kill him in her arena and give his body to Burn?_ I backed away slightly, making the one on the left raise an...eyebrow, i guess. I'm not sure i like the idea of dying in an arena…" I started to say, but the two of them quickly rushed forward, getting on either side of me. The one on the left threw the rope under me, and as i watched, i saw them perform some kind of procedure, and sure enough, next thing i knew, i was trapped with only my wings free.

"You may not like it, but you are coming with us." The dragon on the right said as they each grabbed a side of the rope and started flying. All i could do was watch and wait, knowing struggling while tied up midair might not end well for me, especially since i still had yet to learn how to fly. I watched the ground get farther and farther away from me, all the way up until we were in the clear sky. It was then that i noticed the large, strange shape in the distance.

As we approached, it turned out that the strange shape was actually a collection of shapes, which were actually towers and buildings, most of which were made up of smooth stone. The scale of it was massive, and i soon realized that i was in what they called the sky kingdom. Knowing that, and seeing a few dragons flying about that looked like my guards, i could only make the connection that these were skywings, like the dragon earlier mentioned. As we approached, the soldiers suddenly veered to the left, heading straight towards what looked like a castle.

As they flew through the castle, carrying my tied up body, i saw just how busy this castle was. There seemed to be dragons everywhere, and they all seemed to be flying in such a neat an orderly way that i wasn't sure how they were doing it. I wasn't the only one staring though, because as we passed, i noticed many dragons stopping to stare in wonder at me as we went past. Then again, if i wasn't some form of dragon species they recognized, it made sense.

As we made our way into a central area, i noticed just how much gold there was. There was literally gold _everywhere_ , in the floor in talon prints, and moving through the wall. I started to wonder just how rich this kingdom was. As i was looking around, i noticed a large grate at the bottom of the area we were flying over, and saw that there was a chained skywing underneath it, with copper scales and smoke fuming out of her nose. I wondered who she was and what she had done to end up down there, but i didn't have time to think about it as i was lead up to large stone and gold doors.

As we approached, the doors opened and many guards walked out, in between them three chained dragons, a brown colored dragon with a squarish head and tough looking scales, a dragon as pitch black as the night sky with a few white scales like stars, and a heavily chained sky blue dragon with flaring gills. The guards and the three presumed prisoners all stared at me as we walked past, and i even watched as the brown scaled one ask the black scaled one what kind of dragon i was, only for him to shake his head in utter confusion as he replied he didn't know.

As we passed, the large doors closed, and we were lead forward a bit more before the dragons on either side of me put me down and started bowing. I looked up to see a stone throne shaped like a cloud, and sitting on top of it was an extremely scary looking dragon. She seemed like a normal, skywing, except she had rubies above her eyes in her scales and was wearing many jewels, but there was just something about this dragon that i felt afraid of.

"Hmm, well this looks thrilling. You may rise and tell me just what i am looking at." She said in a somewhat bored but interested voice. The guards rose and the one on the right started to speak. "Thank you, your majesty. We were doing our routine sweep from the Southern outpost when we saw some form of light fill the sky. We went to investigate, and when we reached the area of the source, we found this dragon waiting there. He has been questioned, and yet he has no idea of who he is or what he was doing there."

"Hmm, sounds like a spy to me, though your appearance is rather odd. Oh well, doesn't matter to me as long as he puts up a good fight. Put him into a cell in the arena, and if he dies i'll just give him as a present to Queen Burn. If he lives that long, then he can just go into the cage with the other present. As soon as that is done, you two are dismissed. And you…" She said, pointing a claw at me. "You will fight tomorrow. I suppose after the disappointment of today's fight, two special fights will make up for it. Do not disappoint me." And with that, the guards started carrying me away.

They moved swiftly through the halls once more, this time taking a different route, this time to what I could only assume was the arena. In the center was a large area with surrounding walls, presumably where prisoners like myself were forced to fight. Above that were the stands carved from stone where the audience would watch, including a part that jutted out and was taller than the stands, where the Queen would most likely be watching from. Finally, surrounding the whole arena where circular platforms where chained dragons were connected to.

As i was taken to a platform, i noticed that the chains were some form of wire that wrapped around the prisoners, with the majority mostly centered on their wings so they couldn't fly away. As i was being strapped in, the guards started talking. "You're looking Queen Scarlet was in a bored mood today. If she wasn't, she most likely would have driven some unanswered questions out of you herself. Now, what's your name?" I blinked at him, then asked why he wanted to know my name.

"Ugh, you're going to be fighting tomorrow, and the dragons are always announced. Since we don't know what kind of dragon you are, we can at least give the crowd a name to either cheer for or boo for, depending on how the fight goes. Now im not going to repeat myself. What is your name?" Not wanting to upset him, i just said the first thing that came to mind. "Static." I spoke quickly. "Huh. Well, it will work for now. Good luck in the arena tomorrow, Static." And with that, the guards flew off, and i released a breath i didn't know i had been holding in.

I was somewhat glad i gave a fake name that made since. If i was going to be a dragon that shot lightning, an... _electrifying_ name would have to work. I managed a small laugh. I wasn't feeling to good at that point, mainly due to how i was reevaluating everything i had done to get to this point. Let's see, walked home, took shortcut through woods, felt as if i was being watched and thus ran, fell down a hole, crawled through a cave, saw a cool cavern, read a bunch of mumbo jumbo, got electrified, walked out into a new world, was turned into some strange form of dragon, and was now being kept prisoner to fight in an arena.

Not exactly my best day ever. Heck, even my wings were drooping because of how sad i was starting to get. I decided that the only way to get my mind off the depression was to focus on something else, so i decided to see what dragons were around me. On my right was a bright white and light blue dragon, with horns like icicles. On my left was another one of the aquatic looking dragons, though he was pale green and it looked like blood was coming out of his gills.

"Um, are you alright?" I tried asking the green dragon. His head swiveled towards me and he suddenly tried lunging at me, and i flinched back in surprise as thankfully his now noticeable extra amount of chains kept him in place. It still didn't stop him from trying to reach me, and as i stared in horror at him, i heard a laugh from my other side. "Don't try talking to Gill. His mind is long gone. Then again, i guess a few months without water does that to you." I turned around to see the white dragon talking to me.

"What… what did he do to deserve that?" I asked hesitantly. The dragon shook his head as he spoke. "He tried leading a peace movement among the prisoners, the fool. Scarlet didn't like that to much, and thus punished him severely." He then looked up at me. "So, Static, if i heard you and the guards correctly, what kind of dragon are you? And what did you do t end up here?" I sighed, going through this question yet again. "Im still trying to figure that first question out myself. As for the second one, i was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The dragon laughed again, though this one not as loud. "Heh, yeah, you and almost everyone else here, especially those three." He said, pointing out three distinct shapes of dragons, one brown, one sky blue, and one black. "Who are those three? I saw them while i was being lead into the Queen's throne room." The dragon looked at me, puzzled. "You aren't from around here, are you?" He asked as i shook my head. "Well, then i got some explaining to do for you. Basically, you happened upon Pyrrhia here in the middle of a grand war."

"The tribe of the sandwings had their Queen, Queen Oasis, be murdered by scavengers. However, since she had three daughters, none of them could agree on who should be the new Queen. Instead of just settling it amongst themselves, the three sisters managed to drag almost every other tribe into a war to decide who should be the next Queen. Those three dragonets," he said, pointing them out again, "are part of a prophecy that will end this blasted war. However, the war has only gone on for eighteen years, and the prophecy requires twenty. And i doubt that they'll be able to survive in here for that long."

"Why is that?" I asked. "Cause Scarlet has daily fights for her amusement, and every time a dragon wins a few fights, they get to fight her _champion_." He practically growled the word. "It's a rigged system, because her champion can not be beaten." "Why can't they be beaten? Everyone has to have a weakness." I said. "...You are one curious dragon. Well, _she_ doesn't have a weakness. Scarlet's monstrous champion _Peril_ has firescales, and everything she touches bursts into flames. If you had been here a few hours earlier, you would have seen it in action." I gulped, not exactly wanting to see a dragon burned alive. "So, back to the original question with those three dragonets, i heard that they were being kept underground, and tried to escape, but when they did, they unfortunately ran into Scarlet, and then proceeded to sign their fates by attacking her. I'm not sure if they'll be able to survive any fights though, even with that amount of bravery."

"What will you do if you have to fight them?" I asked. He looked hesitant, before answering. "I guess i'll have to kill them. I don't like it, and i'll go easy on them, but supposedly the prophecy was already ruined, with rumors of the Skywing already being dead, so with either their lives or my life, im going to try to extend mine. The same goes if i have to fight you, except the part where i go easy. Now any other questions?" "Just one. What's your name?" I asked him. He looked confused and hesitant again, before shrugging and answering. "My name is Fjord." And with that, we turned away and lied down, more than likely to go to sleep.

I decided to follow his example, and as my eyes closed and i drifted off to sleep, i felt all my worries come rushing back to me, all in the form of nightmares that were soon to come to me in my restless sleep.

 **Author's Note (Don't worry, this will be the only one.)**

 **So I'm back in writing for Wings of Fire! Woohoo! Now, a few topics i want to discuss. One, the reason i was gone for so long is because i have school, responsibilities, and i'm just plain old lazy and like to work on other story ideas i have yet to post online. Secondly, when it comes back to my older stories, i more than likely will not be continuing those. I look back at those stories wondering what i was thinking when writing them. Also, as you might have seen, i have been able to increase my chapter length, but this however takes more time and i doubt i would be able to do that with my past stories. I am sorry for anyone that was hoping that those ones would continue, but don't worry, i am working on a few more new story ideas, and even have a storyboard now, so im plotting out how im going to write the stories before i even start them. So any future stories i write are guaranteed an ending. Next, i am trying to get a chapter written a week, with a new chapter published every Wednesday (with today excluded) I thank you for all support given so far, and i hope that you will enjoy this new story i am writing.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Im not sure how long i swept, though i know it wasn't too long, because i awoke to a pitch black sky. I do know that i had been in a deep nightmare, thinking about what would happen to my family since i went missing, and the fact that i was now a prisoner in a body not of my own, and that i might soon have to face the topic of either kill or be killed. However, right as i was in the middle of all of the fear, i felt a warmth wash over me, and peace soon came to mind. After about a minute, i blinked awake. I was a sensitive sleeper, and due to how there was a dragon standing at the edge of my platform, it was most likely her landing that woke me.

I looked down to see gray claws greet me, causing me to sigh at the fact that everything wasn't some strange dream after all and was all actually happening. I then proceeded to look up again at the dragon sitting across from me, pondering what she was doing here. She looked like a young Skywing, but with red and orange scales, and even gold veins. As i looked at her, i could that she had bright blue eyes and what looked like smoke rising out of her scales. _Aha_ i thought to myself.

"Peril, i presume?" i asked her. "Yep, that's me." she said. Silence soon followed, with neither of us talking. _Well this is awkward_ , i thought. "Um… is there something you want?" I asked. "Oh, i just wanted to introduce myself to yet another mysterious dragon. I've been able to do that a lot recently." She said. "Oh, well alright then. My name is Ja...Static, and before you ask, no, i don't know what kind of dragon i am." I said. "Oh, well at least that answers a couple of my questions. Alright then, can you fight?" She asked me.

"Personally, i doubt it. I haven't exactly….been around here too long. Like it or not, when i go into that arena tomorrow, i doubt im going to make it far. Doesn't mean i won't try though." I said. "Well can you try then? You look really interesting, and i bet you have a trick up a talon or two, so could you try to survive long enough so we could fight?" I looked at her strangely. "What?" she asked me. I was having a hard time understanding this dragon, so i decided to ask a question that would hopefully answer a few questions.

"Do you like fighting?" I asked her. She looked confused for a second before looking slightly upset. "Why do i keep getting asked that? Of course i enjoy fighting, i do it so that my queen won't be disappointed in me." she said, swishing her tail angrily over the side. That gave me a few answers, though not many. It told me that she was loyal to Scarlet, and from my impressions of her that wasn't a good sign. However, she seemed way to cheerful to be a dragon that has had to fight many dragons and supposedly sets everything on fire by touch. "Are you alright?" I asked her.

She looked at me, puzzled. "That's a strange question. What do you mean?" She asked. _Aha again. She probably isn't able to talk with other dragons often, i guess._ "What i mean is are you okay? You seem...I don't know, way to be happy about fighting. Are you able to do anything other than that?" I asked her. She still looked confused, but gave me an answer i was looking for. "Not really, i suppose. I usually just fight in the arena when i have to, and just sit waiting for what Queen Scarlet wants me to do next." She said. _Hmm, so Scarlet keeps her on a leash and controls her._

"Don't you want to do more with your life? I mean, is your plan to just sit around for your whole life until Queen Scarlet tells you what to do?" I asked her. She was looking even more and more puzzled, and if my assumption was right, i might be able to get her on my side eventually. "You are one very peculiar dragon. I mean, aren't you even afraid of me? I could burn you with a touch, you know." she said.

"I've heard, and i kind of feel bad for you because of it. I doubt anyone's been able to even hug you, and personally, that must suck. And why don't you find some kind of hobby while you are waiting around. Im sure that there is something you could do." She seemed increasingly puzzled, as if it wasn't just my words affecting her. "No, there isn't anything i can do really. Like i said, i burn everything i touch. If you have any ideas, im all up for it." This was exactly what i was waiting for, because i did have an idea.

"Tell me, how long does it take for you to touch wood before it catches on fire?" I asked her. "Um, about three seconds, i guess." I grinned. "Why? What's your idea?" "Well, back where i come from, we have this form of art where you take a slab of wood, and then slowly you burn a pattern into it, creating a form of art. If it takes a few seconds before it sets on fire, you could just jab at the wood with a talon quickly to burn in whatever pattern you want to make." She stared at me for a few seconds, blinking, before giving me a reaction i was not expecting.

"That's...BRILLIANT!" She shouted, making Fjord grumble in his sleep and Gill to start kicking around like a sleeping dog. She quickly hushed herself. "It's a form of art I can make! I've always wanted to draw! Ooooh, i have to go try this out! If this works, I'll be sure to kill you quickly if we have to fight!" Before i could say anything, Peril flew off in a rush of excited, and i could hear her muttering to herself on how she was going to get the wood to her room without burning it.

As i was left in silence once more, i pondered what just happened. I had just met the deadly champion of the arena I was going to be forced to fight in. She seemed conflicted, as if she wanted more, but refused to leave due to her loyalty. She seemed nice, and yet had no problem with taking the lives of others. I sighed. I knew i had won points in her favor, but she seemed to loyal to be willing to help me, no matter how much i helped her. Even after giving her an idea of how to do something with her scales of fire that wasn't murder, the most that had done for me was a quick death.

I lied onto the ground, feeling that if my wings weren't bound, they would be drooping. Peril's words reminded me that not only was i in an arena, but that i was going to have to fight the next day, and i would either have to take another dagon's life… or lose my own. I didn't want to die, but i wasn't even certain i could fight back, mainly due to two reasons. One, i was in a new body and had only learned how to barely move around easily, and i had no idea how to fight. The second reason, however, was the bigger issue.

I was a pacifist. At this point of my life, i had never even been in a fight, always finding ways to defuse dangerous situations with words rather than fists. It was mainly due to how i never wanted to hurt anyone or anything, due to how i never wanted to cause others pain. But i knew that i wouldn't be able to talk my way out of this, as i looked over at Gill, and the harsh way he was punished for not fighting. At this point, all i seriously wanted to do was go home, and with the cruel fact of reality surrounding me, i somehow managed to fall back asleep.

I woke up a few hours later to see the early morning sun starting to rise up. I had woken to the sound of movement, and when i looked around i could see different dragons down in the stadium. Some looked like they were cleaning and preparing it, while others were coming in from entrances and starting to find places to sit down.

I grimaced at that, dreading the fact that these dragons actually showed up early to get seats to watch other dragons fight. But then again, it might not be their fault, and Scarlet might have been forcing all the dragons of her kingdom to attend, but as i watched the stadium fill, i started to noticed dragons other than skywings. They were mostly skywings, but i noticed some that looked like the brown one i had seen yesterday, and even some that had a sand like color and what looked like a barb at the ends of their tails.

After what seemed to be two hours of watching the stadium fill, the entire place was packed. I was kind of awestruck with just how many dragons there were, but then again, if dragons ruled this world like humans did, then their population size would make since. As i was thinking about numbers and how many humans would equal one dragon in modern population size, a hush fell over the stadium. I followed the gazes of many dragons over to the overhang, where Queen Scarlet had emerged. As i looked over, i noticed some other dragons move a structure beside her that looked like a tree, and what i saw next nearly blinded me.

Woven in the branches of the tree was another type of dragon, and as she was pushed into the sunlight, her scales suddenly lit up in an ocean of colors. If i wasn't blinded by the sight, i would have to say it was one of the most beautiful things i had ever seen. But as i watched, i noticed that the colors were actually shifting across her scales, and as i remembered a detail one of the guards said yesterday, i could only presume that this was a rainwing. As i looked at her, i saw what looked like a flimsy chain around her neck connected to the tree, and for the slightest moment, i thought i saw her open her eyes and looked around.

As i stared at this dragon, many guards flew up, and for a moment i thought they were going to me, but as that moment passed, i noticed they went towards my right, to Fjord. I watched as Fjord put up no fight as the guards worked on his bindings, eventually freeing all but his wings, in which he was carried towards the arena. I noticed that the same was going on across the arena to the brown dragon which was one of the dragons that was part of the prophecy, and with dread i realized that Fjord was going to fight him.

" _I guess i'll have to kill them. I don't like it, and i'll go easy on them."_ Fjords words flashed through my head. If this dragon war was going to stop, that dragon Fjord was about to fight had to live, but Fjord would have to die. And with that thought, i also realized i was about to watch as a dragon i had just met either died, or forced to kill. And i knew i had to watch, because if i didn't, i wouldn't know how dragons fight, and then i'd be blind when i would be forced to.

As i watched, a skywing flew above the arena, and announced the combatants. On one side was the dragon who was kept next to me and told me much about the world i arrived in, Fjord the icewing. On the other side was a dragon (or as they called the younger ones, dragonets), who was part of a prophecy to end the war, Clay the mudwing. After they were introduced, the battle began, and all i could do was watch.

It seemed as though Clay was trying to talk to Fjord, but as i looked over to Gill who was scratching away at his neck with his back leg like a dog, i knew that talking with Fjord would do nothing. Fjord ran up to Clay and swung his claws at him, but Clay was barely able to dodge. As he continued to try to talk to him, Fjord looked like he was taking a deep breath. I watched in fascination as Fjord breathed what looked like a snowstorm at Clay, and as he dodged, i noticed a little bit hit his wings and he winced.

The dragons in the crowds at this rate were either cheering on Fjord to kill him or booing Clay for not fighting. As this happened, i watched Clay run towards Fjord and then moved quickly to the right as he raked his claws against Fjords neck on what looked like an old wound, which started bleeding profusely. Fjord roared and pounced as Clay appeared to be apologizing, and as Fjord ran at him, Clay suddenly dived under him and raked his claws on Fjords underbelly, leaving a trail of blue blood in his wake.

I was starting to feel sick. All of this blood and gore was starting to really get to me, and i started to wonder if i could even vomit since i hadn't eaten since yesterday. Then, Fjord pounced again, and this time managed to get on top of Clay and pin him down, starting to inhale to prepare another breath attack, but Clay grabbed his horns and moved his head out of the way, shooting the breath in the direction of the crowd, scaring many dragons out of their seats. Fjord kept breathing though, and it looked like Clay couldn't keep Fjord away much longer.

Suddenly, there was a large commotion, and i quickly noticed that the blue dragon that was with Clay had jumped off her podium, and was trying to get to the arena. I looked to see that this had everyone's attention, including the fighters, who had stopped fighting, the queen, and even Peril, who was sitting next to Scarlet, though a safe distance away. But as i looked towards the queen, i saw something that caused events that haunted my nightmares for a long time.

It was the rainwing, and as everyone was distracted, her eyes shot open, she looked down towards the direction of Clay and Fjord, and then her mouth opened wide, like a snake's. As this happened, what looked like an inky black substance shot out of her fangs, and they flew all the way down to the arena, landing on Fjords face. As this happened, i saw her shut her mouth, quickly look around, and then her gaze landed on me. We stared for what felt like a long time, but was only half a second, as she but one talon to her snout in a shush motion, and then pretended to be asleep.

And then Fjord started screaming. His scream filled the sky, grabbing everyone's attention at once. His screams were that of death, and i couldn't stand them. They filled my nightmares when they were at their worst, and they always will. I quickly slammed my hands over my ears and shut my eyes for the longest time. Finally, when i opened them, Fjord was gone, and Clay was being fastened back into his wires. I could only guess about what had happened to Fjord, due to his still empty spot to my right, and i felt sick.

As i sat there, more guards suddenly showed up, and i realized with a sinking feeling in my heart that it was my turn now. As i was taken down, i could see the guards on another podium, grabbing my soon to be opponent. As i was lowered down, the announcer began to speak.

"Yes, that was quite the last fight, but now we have yet another special fight for you folks." The announcer said, and dragons in the audience began to cheer. "This time however, is something quite peculiar. On one side is a dragonet ( _huh, guess i wasn't full grown yet_. I thought), who was captured at the base of the mountain yesterday. As a suspected spy is a dragon that no one has ever seen the likes of before, and with barely any memory of who he is. I present, Static of the unknown!" and as he said this, i landed on the ground of the arena, and the dragons cheered.

I could hear many voices, some of excitement of a second fight, some of wonder of who and what i was, and even some of remorse, though those were few and quieter than the rest. The announcer went on however. "On the other side, his opponent will be a confirmed sy that was caught working for Blaze. With one win so far, it's Sahara the sandwing!" As he said this, a white/sand colored dragon was lowered to the opposite side of me. She was patterns in black on her like that of a cobra's, and shining black eyes that seemed to stare into my soul. Her tail whipped back and forth, and i could see the end of it with the barb posed and ready to strike at any second.

"And with that, claws up, teeth ready, fight!" the announcer said. As he spoke that, the dragon across from me, Sahara, shot towards me in a zigzag pattern. I watched and waited, and then as she was almost upon me, i moved as if to take a step to the left. Sahara bought it, and used her momentum to shoot towards the left, flinging her tail forward, but i was already gone on the right side, and was directly behind her. It was the perfect opportunity to attack from behind… but i couldn't do it. So i did the best i could do: as she suddenly spun around in anger at my trick, i flung sand into her eyes.

She howled in fury, using her hands to get the sand out her eyes as her tail flailed about, threatening to fit me if i got too close. The dragons in the stands were cheering at my tricky moves, and i had to use the bought time i had given myself to formulate a plan. I had nothing on me, and my only weapons i had on me were my talons and my lightning, though i knew i could not bring myself to injure or hurt her. Sahara was in the same predicament as me, being forced to fight for her life, though unlike me she could actually fight.

She had talons and a tail barb, which i could only guess was poisonous. So what could i do to fight that wouldn't involve me killing her, but would allow us to escape this match with our lives? Suddenly, i knew what i had to do. If i could use the right amount of my lightning breath on her, i could temporarily stop her heart, at least long enough where she appears dead, in which they would drag her off to wherever they put the corpses. She would then wake up later, and she could then escape.

There were many problems with this plan however. One; I would be causing her extreme pain, and thinking about that made me think back to when i grabbed the strange stone, and i honestly didn't want to cause anyone else that kind of pain.

Another problem was dragons and my electricity. What if it wasn't strong enough to stop her heart, or she woke up too soon and the guards killed her, and then Scarlet punishes me for not killing her? Or even worse, if i use too much lightning and stop her heart permanently? What if, on my second day forced into a strange body and a strange world, i was forced to become a killer?

However, as Sahara finally got the sand out of her eyes and charged at me with a scream of rage, i knew there was no time for what ifs. As she ran towards me, i stood up as tall as i could, i moved my legs into a suitable position, i listened to the crowd and every noise being made, including that of sand being thrown behind a fast moving dragon, and right as Sahara was in front of me, i whispered to words before releasing a torrent of lightning.

" _I'm sorry."_

As the lightning hit Sahara dead in the center of her chest, she was slammed backward and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Her body spasmed around on the ground as if she was having a seizure, and after a few seconds, i stopped, and could only look at what i had done. Sahara's mouth was open as if she wanted to cry out, but no sound escaped her. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she finally stopped moving, and i saw that a star shaped black spot appeared in the center of her scales on her chest.

For a moment, the stadium was silent. Everyone could only look at what had occurred. Then, they started cheering. I didn't notice though. All i could do was stare at Sahara, looking for even the slightest sign of life. There had to be some form of sign on her, some sign that proved i wasn't a murderer. For the longest time, all i could think was how i just murdered someone i didn't even know, but as guards lifted her up to take her to wherever the corpses were taken, i thought i saw her tail twitch, even just the slightest bit.

It would have to be enough reassurance for now. But if i ever got out of here, i swore i would find out if Sahara had lived, just so i could apologize for what i had done. I noticed the crowd was starting to leave through the exits, and the queen, Peril, and the rainwing were gone as well. As i was put back on my podium, i lied down and sigh, contemplating everything that had happened.

After about an hour of contemplation and sitting in silence, especially since Fjord was now gone and Gill wasn't much of a talker, a guard arrived and dropped off a live pig, saying it was food as he left. I could only stare at the pig, contemplating how i was going to eat it. It was small enough compared to me i could eat it in one bite, but then i would feel bad about killing it whilst it was in terror. After thinking about what i had just done, i had lost my appetite at the thought of using my electricity, and just watched as it ran off the platform, wondering if I could have found a way to save a pig in a world full of dragons, and thought better of it.

As more time passed, and the evening neared, some guards came over to be, going through the process of unbinding me. "Going to have an audience with the queen." was the only answer i was given when i asked what was happening, and i just slumped in defeat as i was carried through the halls of the palace. As i was carried, i noticed how actually open the palace was, with large hallways and open ceilings, which made me question what happened when it rained. Was everything in here waterproof?

As i snapped out of my distracted thinking, i noticed i was once more in the throne room. Now that i wasn't binded, i noticed more details of the room then i had before. One wall to the side was completely open to the air, and the gold running everywhere was in patterns like flames. Scarlet's throne was like that of a cloud, on which she was looking at her talons like she was extremely bored. To her right was a slightly lower throne, and to her left was the rainwing from before.

I could only stare at her as her scales shifted colors. Why did Scarlet have such a dangerous dragon as prisoner? Was she just a tool Scarlet used, like when she killed Fjord and saved Clay? Or was her venom a secret? One that Scarlet didn't know about and only used when Scarlet was looking away? As i stared at her, i thought i could see the tiniest movement in her wings, and a twitch of a talon.

"Ugh, do you have no manners at all? When you presented in front of a queen, you are supposed to bow." Queen Scarlet broke me out of my trance. My eyes shot towards her, forgetting for a minute that i was brought here. I quickly tried to do my best at a bow, but i had no idea how it was supposed to look, and from the snort of disapproval, i probably was doing it wrong. _"Doesn't matter if i insult you or not."_ I darkly thought. _"You're the one keeping me prisoner and forcing me to fight."_

"They really aren't teaching you young dragons any manners nowadays, are they? No matter, that is not the reason you have been brought here." Scarlet said. "There are a few things i would wish to discuss with you, my thrillingly new mysterious dragon. First, i must say that your performance today, at the time, was quite thrilling to watch." " _She really likes the word "thrilling"._ " I thought.

"However," she went on, "I am quite disappointed to find out that you didn't actually kill your opponent." My heart froze, and i stood still. "Oh, so you _did_ know that you didn't manage to kill her?" She asked, with a dangerous tone in her voice. "Yes," I replied, deciding it better to be brave rather than silent. "I knew there was a chance that my lightning would not kill Sahara, so i took the chance. Whether she lived or died, i had no idea, and since i've arrived here, i have not been informed if these are fights to the death," (which was a lie), "so i just did what i could do."

I could see what appeared to be smoke rising out of her snout, but she kept an evil grin on her face. "Well, it doesn't matter either way, since she's dead now." I felt my heart drop. "Yes, as soon as she started to move about, I had my guards dispose of her themselves, this time insuring that she was dead."

I didn't know what to do. I had hurt someone in the hope that it would allow them to escape, and all i ended up doing was ensuring their death. I wanted to break down, right then and there. Not only because i had failed, but it was now my fault that another person was dead. But i knew how to hide my emotions well.

In high school, i never let others see how i was truly feeling, and even now, i knew that feeling sad for Sahara's death was exactly what Scarlet wanted. She wanted to watch me suffer at the hands of my failure. I wouldn't allow her any amusement out of this, because i wouldn't let her win. _"If i ever have to hurt another dragon due to you Scarlet_ ," I thought, " _I will make sure you feel all the pain that i'll have made others feel."_

Since i just stood with no emotion on my face, I watched a disappointed expression cross Scarlet's face. She sighed. "Oh well, i was hoping for a bit of a better reaction, but you truly are a strong one." She looked at me once more. "At least that means you will have another thrilling fight in my arena. And this time, if your combatant isn't dead for certain, then you will be killed along with them."

"Too bad i'll only be able to see you in one more fight, which will be two days from now. You better make it exceptionally thrilling, since it will be my hatching day." Scarlet spoke, looking at her claws once more. "And why will I only be in one more fight?" I had to ask. Scarlet looked down at me with that evil grin on her face once more. "Because after that fight," Scarlet spoke, "I will be giving you as a gift to my ally, Burn."

"Burn has an interest in things that look odd, and i'm sure that after she kills and stuffs you, you'll fit right in with her collection." Scarlet explained. I could feel myself pale. What kind of sick minded person stuffed other sentient creatures? "But anyhow, there is another problem that i've heard you were the cause of." Scarlet went on.

"Someone," she started, an irritated expression on her face, "has been giving my champion creative ideas." _"Oh crud"_ I thought. "My champion isn't supposed to be creative, lizard, she is supposed to be my weapon. I've already punished Peril for talking to prisoners. She isn't supposed to talk to them, you know. She's only supposed to kill them. So," she clapped her talons together, "the only problem is deciding how to punish you."

"I can't kill you right now, due to how that wouldn't be very thrilling. I can't put you up against Peril, since she would burn straight through you and then i couldn't give you as a gift to Burn. So what to do, what to do…" Scarlet looked thoughtfully in the air for a moment, tapping a claw against her chin. "Aha, i know! What better way to deal with two problems in one swoop. Static, on the day of my hatching, you will be fighting my three other new prisoners." Scarlet went on.

"You will be facing a Seawing, a Mudwing, and the one i really want to see fight, a Nightwing. I'll make them all fight beforehand, to make it a bit fair, but good luck taking on three dragonets at once. That is all." Scarlet finished speaking, then waved her talons to the guards. They grabbed ahold of me before i could say anything, and then i was taken back to my prison.

By then it had turned night, but as i lay there, all i could do was think. _"Two days from now, i'll be forced to fight against this world's only hope at freedom from a gruesome war. If i lose, i die, and if i win, i ruin a prophecy and then die. What can i do?"_ I thought for a long time, but as i thought, i knew there was only one way out of this mess: escape.

But as i studied the wire wound around myself, i knew that wouldn't be possible. The ones around my wings were always bound, and even if i did get them off, i still hadn't learn how to fly yet. And even then, i would have to fight my way out of a whole kingdom full of dragons who would just have to look like a dragon that doesn't look like any other dragon they had seen before.

Even if escape wasn't an option, i still needed another way out. I could potentially try to survive the fight with peace, but i knew that either the three i would have to fight would either attack me, or we would all be killed by Scarlet. A possible way i saw out of this was Peril, but that still involved me convincing her to aid my escape, and i knew that wasn't very likely. For one, i would have to get her to come talk to me, and according to Scarlet, she wouldn't be able to talk to me again. And then there was the problem with her loyalty…

As if knowing i was speaking about her, i saw Peril step out of the entrance of the arena, holding some kind of large clay pot in her hands. I watched as she flew up to the prisoners and went over to the brown one known as Clay. I watched as she seemed to talk with him for a bit, then she dumped the contents on top of the mudwing. He looked in pain for one moment, then proceeded to talk to Peril.

This went on her a few hours, Peril swooping down to the tunnels, then back up, holding either the clay pot or what looked like a burnt rabbit. Whoever Clay was, he seemed to be on Peril's side at least. I started to wonder about if he had managed to get Peril to help him, at least a little bit, before i noticed that Peril was now flying towards me.

"Hey Static." Peril said, landing at the edge of the platform. "Hey Peril. Having fun? I thought Queen Scarlet punished you." I said. "Well, she can't really punish me, since no one can really touch me, but i still just wanted to say hello. Besides, i also enjoy talking to Clay over there. You two are a lot alike, at least in your ways of thinking. So im trying to be a bit more helpful, at least, if you want it." Peril said.

"I actually have a question or two for you. First, do you know if that dragon i fought earlier today, Sahara, actually was killed?" I asked. Peril looked confused for a moment. "I don't know. I could ask later, but didn't your cool lightning breath kill her?" she asked me. "No, lightning has the potential to kill, but when used in the right amounts can just temporarily make it appear that someone is dead."

"Ooh, alright. Well, if you didn't kill her and the queen found out, she must be awfully mad at you right now. At least you put on an exciting show today, so that's in your favor at least. Anything else?" Peril asked. "I do have one more question, though you might be hesitant to answer." Peril cocked her head. "Is there any way i can escape?" Peril looked shocked for a moment. "What? Why would you want to escape?" Peril asked.

"Because in two days i will be forced to fight again for Queen Scarlet. If i don't die then, i will certainly die afterwards, when i'm given as a gift to Burn. Please Peril, i don't want to die. Even if you can't help me escape, at least help me live." Peril looked heavily conflicted. She eventually looked up at me with sadness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Static, but i can't do that. Burn will definitely take you, no matter what I do, and i can't help you escape. The most i can do is not mention this to Queen Scarlet, since im not supposed to be here anyway." I looked down at my hands.

"On the bright side, tomorrow there won't be any fights, due to how there is going to be a trial instead. Be sure to look for me, because im going to be hiding. The queen said i wasn't allowed to watch, but im going to anyway. I'll be over there, beside Clay, so be sure to wave to me." She pointed over at Clay. I didn't respond, just looking down some more. She stood there, silent, before sighing and starting to fly off. She stopped however, before talking to me.

"I can't help you escape Static….but if i see an opportunity where you might be able to, i'll try to make sure that you can escape without being noticed." She said, most likely hoping for a reply. I looked up at, but my face was expressionless. "Thanks Peril. At least i have that to look forward to." Peril stared back at me for a moment, sadness on her face, before flying off. I lied down to the ground, trying to go to sleep.

In two days, if i didn't find even the smallest of opportunities to escape by then, then i would be killed in a strange world. As i thought on this, i knew sleep would not be coming to me that night.

 **Author's Note (Hopefully this won't be every chapter)**

 **So im glad you guys are liking the story so far. Now, i definitely appreciate your suggestions, so if you have anymore, be sure to point them out. I do have to say though that after you write for a while, it's kind of hard to change one's writing style. Now, I'm sure you're wondering why this chapter was so violent and sad. Well, to anyone that read wings of fire, you should know that sometimes violence occurs. I mean, freaking teeth being ripped out and self disembowelment.** _ **This series is for 12 year olds?**_ **But anyway, the reason for the sadness is to expand a bit on Jack's/Static's character. He was just forced into a strange world and forced to cause pain even though he is, or was, a pacifist. Kind of a saddening fact for poor Jack. *Book 1 Spoiler Alert, though hopefully if you're reading this you've read book 1* But don't worry, once i get to the point where the dragonets escape, i'll have things get better. Besides, next chapter he's meeting the happiest character, Sunny, so that should make things better! Anyway, thanks for reading, be sure to comment and btw, i accept any fan art. I mean, if you look at my cover, i can't really draw, yet i still like it (my excuse for drawing a good dragon is im kind of obsessed with them). So any art is appreciated. Hope you enjoyed, and be ready for the next chapter next Wednesday.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Even though i did not believe i would get any sleep that night, i somehow did. Though, instead of the horrible nightmares i had faced the previous night, and was expecting once more, what happened in my dreams can only be described as a vision.

 _I was in a clearing or meadow. Large trees surrounded me, and a cloudless blue midday sky was above me. At first, i didn't know i was dreaming, because when i looked down, i was myself, a human once more._

 _I felt relieved that everything that had happened the past few days was only a nightmare. But as i looked around, i wondered… where was i? As i looked around, nothing that i saw looked vaguely familiar from anywhere i had been before. I decided to pull out my phone, just to brush against scales._

 _I looked down to see i was once more a dragon. As i started to question what was happening, i heard strong wing beats in the air, and thus looked up. Flying overhead were six dragons. One was Clay, the mudwing, then i saw the Rainwing, sending shivers down my spine, a black dragon, a dragon that looked a lot like a sandwing, a blue dragon, and… myself. Or at least, my dragon self._

 _As they flew overhead, the sky turned black, and as i looked around, i could see i was no longer in the clearing. I was now in some kind of cave, and as i looked behind me, i could see my other self and some of the dragonets behind me. As i looked forward, however, i saw a large marsh plane, and scattered about it were the corpses of icewings and mudwings. I could only stare in horror as the scene changed in front of my eyes._

 _I was now in what looked like a huge cavern, with waterfalls and a huge, beautifully shaped pavillion going up. Standing on one platform was me and the dragonets, and we were surrounded by many of the blue dragon, though as i looked, some were green as well, which meant they were the same kind as Gill. We appeared to be standing in front of a blue dragon adorned with many pearls._

 _Once again, the scene shifted leaving me in what appeared to be a rainforest. I was in some form of platform in the trees, with the group of dragons and my other self on a much larger one. As i watched, dragons seemed to appear out of nowhere to surround the group, and as i looked closer, i could only determine them as rainwings. When i recognized that, i nearly screamed, but thankfully the scene changed again._

 _This time, i was surrounded by lava. As i looked around, i saw what looked like the black dragon surrounded by what looked like another group of dragonets. As i continued looking, i saw movement in the smoke filled clouds above, seeing for what looked like my other self, who was nearly perfectly camouflaged in the smoke, and seemed to be watching the group._

 _The scene changed once more. I found myself in some form of desert, though standing outside a tent. As i looked inside it, i could see many sandwings, including the one in the dragonets group, a few black dragons, and myself. I could only stand and watch as a sandwing moved suddenly after shouting a roar, and then stabbed one of the black dragons with her tail. As the scene shifter again, I could see fear in my other self's eyes._

 _As the scenes continued shifting, i could only think. What was happening? Was i seeing something that was going to happen, like a vision? Why was this happening? How was i connected to these dragonets? As i pondered this, i found myself in one last scene._

 _I was in the desert once more. Hundreds of dragons filled the desert, lit up by a few flames and the night sky. There were dragons of all shapes, colors, and sizes, which appeared to be making a form of ring. On one side of the ring was my other self and the dragonets from before. In the center were three sandwings, one that looked worried, one smug, and the other serious. The serious one appeared to be holding a box, and as she ripped her claws into it, and the scene shifted once more, all i could hear were screams of terror._

 _As the scene shifted, i found myself back in the clearing from before, but this time in the dead of night. Crickets and owls filled the empty void of silence in the area, and the clearing was lit by the stars and two and a half moons. I could only stand there for a bit, questioning everything i had just seen._

"Do not fear the future, young one. You can only go along with the waves of time, hoping that everything will turn out alright." _I looked around quickly, locking my eyes on a glowing blue shape in the center of the clearing. "_ Stay calm, young Jack, or Static, as you have wisely called yourself. Many challenges await your future, and if you are to make it through them, you have to listen to me. _" The figure said._

 _As i looked at the dragon, i noticed he seemed to one of the green or blue kinds of dragons, though even though he was green, he was casting a blue glow from himself. He appeared older than me, though still young. When he talked, his mouth didn't move, and i knew i was probably talking to a ghost._

"What is happening? How do you know who i am? What did i just see? Why is this happening to me!?" _I yelled at the dragon. I didn't like taking my anger out on others, but he seemed to know something, and i needed to know why everything was happening._

"You need to keep your calm, young Static. Everything will be answered in due time. As to what is happening, you have been cast into our world of Pyrriah to aid in the dragonets quest to bring peace to their world. There are futures where they got through it alone, but to ensure this future's fate, you have been brought upon to aid them and ensure everything goes correctly." _The dragon spoke._

"As to what you just saw, that was visions of important events that will happen to you and the dragonets within the next few months. Each event will occur, as long as neither you nor the dragonets perish. However, this is only within the next few months, and whether you find the answers you seek afterward, or are stuck here for a longer period of time, i do not know as of yet."

"As to why you were chosen for this task, that can not be told. Whether you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or fate lead you here, i cannot tell. And as to getting back to where you once came, i know not of that either." _He spoke, with what looked like pity deep in his eyes._

"Well, at least i won't die in two days." _I spoke with relief._ "But even then, do you at least know of any way can find my way home? Even after i do help these dragonets?" _I asked. He shook his head._

"I am sorry, but i do not know that at this time. I will, however, be able to contact you once more, and as the days past, i will be informed of more and more of the future, and will be able to aid you in what you search for." He spoke.

"Well, alright i guess. So why was it a good idea to conceal my name?" _I asked, wondering about how it affects things, though glad i managed something right._

"Other dragons would not understand if you informed them of the truth behind your origins here in Pyrriah. They would either act out of confusing or fury, due to many dragons opinions about humans, or scavengers, as they are called here. There will be a single dragon though, Sunny, who you can tell. As far as i've been told, she will understand and even aid you in your quest, as you aid her's." _He explained._

"You keep mentioning how you are being informed about what is happening. Are you just some kind of messenger, telling me all of this?" _I asked, slightly more confused as to what was going on. As i asked that, it sounded as if he chuckled._

"No, i am not a messenger. Me and another dragon you might meet one day have been lying in wait in case a specific threat occurs in the future. However, with the current threat that has occurred, even by placing down a prophecy, we cannot be certain that the dragonets will be able to stop this war. That is why, when we noticed you appeared, we decided to contact you." _He explained._

"So what is this threat that you are waiting for? Is that why i'm here?" _I asked. He shook his head. "_ I am not certain, but it is a possibility. All i know is that it will be after this first crisis is taken care of, and if it isn't, it will only ensure more problems when the event does occur." He spoke.

 _Suddenly, the clearing started to shift, as if some form of earthquake was happening_. "It appears you are waking up _."_ _He said._ "Are there any last questions?" _He asked, looking straight at me._

 _I had so many questions, and obviously not enough time. "_ Who are you?" _I quickly asked, wondering as to how this dragon was important. Once again, he seemed to chuckle._

"It won't mean much now, but in the future, it might. I am a seawing." _He spoke as the clearing seemed to crumble away right in front of my eyes. Finally, as everything went dark, he finished speaking._

"And my name is Fathom."

I awoke with a start, trying to flail around, but my bindings kept me still. I quickly looked around, examining my surroundings. I was still in Scarlet's prison arena, and the sun was slowly making it's way into the sky. My sudden movement got me a growl from Gill, but other than that, nothing happened.

I quickly went over everything that had occurred. At the very least, i knew i might be safe for more than two days. However, it seemed i was going to be stuck here in Pyrrhia for much longer, and i was going to have to help the dragonets fulfil a prophecy if i ever wanted any hope of going home. I layed back down with a sigh.

What was even happening back home? My sister would've returned from her friends by now, and would've realized i was missing. How was she feeling? How would my parents feel when they got back from their vacation in less than a week? And even if i did return, would i still be myself, in both body and mind?

For one thing, a dragon would be kind of hard to hide in a world such as mine. And even then, would my family still accept me? And then there was myself… I had already been forced to force and nearly kill someone since i arrived. What more will i do in the future? How much will i have changed?

I was roused from my thoughts as i saw dragons begin filing into the arena. However, unlike yesterday, there were mainly skywings. I saw the dragon that was underneath the metal grate in the large chamber being taken into the center of the arena right as Scarlet appeared.

Unlike every other time when i saw Scarlet, where she was adorned by jewels and gold, right now she was adorned with a black chainmail like vest. I sighed in relief as i noticed that the rainwing that she kept with her was nowhere to be seen. Even though she seemed to be with the dragonets and was probably a prisoner of Scarlet, every time i picture her i remember the venom and what it did to Fjord.

Suddenly, i noticed movement to my left. I looked that way to see Peril hiding behind the dragonet known as Clay. I remembered how she mentioned that Scarlet said she wasn't allowed to be here, and felt some hope in my chest that Peril did decide to carry through with her plan to disobey Scarlet. Maybe, if i played my cards right, even after what she said, i could have her help me escape. Though there would still be the problem with the dragonets…

After a time, there was a hushed silence in the crowd as Scarlet began to speak, allowing the trial to begin. There was a dragon on each side, and i realized it was like a normal court session, except there was no jury, which meant Scarlet was more than likely the judge and jury… and even possibly the executioner.

The dragon who appeared to be the defending attorney began to talk, explaining the scenario. Apparently, the dragon below was a traitor named Kestrel who was guilty of multiple crimes. One was disobeying the queen, and another was for raising the dragonets under the queen's mountain. The defender started to go into detail of how Kestrel had disobeyed the queen, and that's when things got interesting.

Apparently, Kestrel was signed up for some form of breeding program at the queen's request, and had twins. One that had too little fire… and one that had too much. I looked up at Peril as he kept explaining. On Peril's face was a mixture of shock and confusion. It looked like she was ready to charge down there and demand to know what was going on, but like me, we kept listening.

Apparently, dragonets with too much fire were to be killed, but since Kestrel didn't want her children dead, she tried to run away with them. However, the queen caught up to them, and forced Kestrel to kill one of the dragonets. I felt like crying at this tale, immediately feeling deep remorse for the dragon below. Afterward, she was to be locked away, the queen changing her bargain after Kestrel killed the one with too little fire.

I glared at Scarlet, who looked extremely bored at the moment. She had caused other so much pain, and yet she sat on a throne with no consequences. I knew i would make her pay for what she had done one day. I wouldn't kill her, but when you're a pacifist, you find other ways to make others pay for the crimes they have committed.

Scarlet spoke up when the dragon finished talking, explaining how she was now bored and ordered to have both Kestrel and the dragon defending her killed. Then was a loud shout of dismay as what looked like a trail of fire blazed down to the arena, and i realized it was Peril, finally taking action.

She stared at queen, yelling at her to explain, as a look of shock appeared on Kestrel's face as she tried to get out her bindings. Scarlet admitted that Kestrel was Peril's mother, but asked why she should care, due to how Kestrel had raised five dragonets instead of trying to save her.

At this point, i wanted to shout at Scarlet, but i didn't, knowing there would be consequences. She was trying to trick Peril and continue using her, but by the looks of it, Peril had enough. Peril said that as Scarlet's champion, she would defend Kestrel with something called the "Guardian's Shield". I grinned, knowing that if this worked, Peril would have another voice of reason who might help her break free from Scarlet.

Scarlet glared down at Peril, asking where she had learned about that. As Peril tried to lie about reading it somewhere, Scarlet swooped down and grabbed the dragon who was the defender. Peril yelled in dismay as the queen flew straight up, holding onto the dragon as he tried to break free. But before Peril could catch up, Scarlet let go of the dragon.

As he started to fall, Peril tried to grab him, but held her hands back. I watched, realizing that this dragon had a problem with his tail that seemed to be weighing him down, and he plummeted straight down, Peril unable to grab him without burning him.

As he reached the ground, i looked away and covered my ears before a loud crack was heard. After a minute, i looked back to see the dragon, who looked sickly broken, bleeding on the ground. Standing near him was Peril, wanting to help him, but couldn't. Scarlet landed back on her podium. She said that she would allow the guardian's shield, and then spoke out to the crowd.

"I hope this has been a lesson to any other dragons who were thinking of teaching my champion bad habits." As she said this, she looked around the arena, stopping at two specific points. One was at the dragonet Clay, the other… was me. As her eyes locked onto me, all i did was glare back at her. She dismissed everyone as she went back into the palace, a grin on her face.

I looked back at Peril, wishing i could trying to help her. From how depressed she looked, the defending dragon who was now dying had most likely been someone close to her. As i watched guards come to take Kestrel away, Kestrel pointed at her mouth, more than likely wanting the bindings off to speak to Peril. Peril said something, before walking away to another exit.

I sat there, watching each and every dragon leave. I thought to myself for a long while, wondering how a dragon could feel so good about herself by causing the pain of others. As i thought about things such as the dragonets, Scarlet, Kestrel and Peril, i was interrupted as guards began to surround me.

"What's going on?" I asked as my bindings were beginning to be removed from myself. "You're getting transferred to a different prison cell, at least temporarily." One of the guards replied as they finished unbinding me, and then started to move me.

"Why am i being transferred? And to where?" I asked as i was flown to a different part of the castle then i had been in the last couple of times. "You're being transferred to a cell in the dining hall, to where another prisoner is. You two are to be together when Queen Burn arrives in a few hours, that way she can see what gifts Queen Scarlet has gotten for her." The soldier replied.

I gulped. So not only was there another dragon that Scarlet considered a "gift" for Burn, but Burn would soon be here. From everything i had heard, i knew that after she arrived, i might not have too much longer to come up with an escape plan. If she was going to kill me, i needed to escape before she could get her hands on me, and according to Scarlet, that would be after the arena matches tomorrow.

"Who's the other prisoner?" I asked the guards as we turned another corner. I could only hope that it was someone that would either help me escape or at least not turn me in if I tried. If whoever i was getting celled up with decided it wasn't worth trying to escape and might even tell the guards if i was trying to escape, hoping for a reward… well, it would definitely make things more difficult.

"You're getting put into the cell with the sandwing dragonet of destiny. Quite the honor for you, even if she is a bit weird looking. Now start asking questions!" He barked at me. I shut my mouth, deciding it better than to get the guards angry. But i was glad about one thing. If my soon-to-be cellmate was one of the dragonets i was going to have to help, maybe they would aid in my plan to escape.

Finally, the guards took a turn into a large room. In this room, one of the walls was open to the midday sky. There was a long table in the middle with what appeared to be dining dishes lined up along it. There was a throne at the end, with a slightly lower one next to it. Then finally, up above, was what appeared to be a large, golden bird cage.

As the guards started flying up to it, i realized that the bird cage was my new prison. At first, i stared at it in distaste, but realized i would at least be able to move. However, it made escape more troublesome, due to how my wings were still binded and the cage was several feet above the ground.

As the guards flew to one side where the door was, i saw what looked like a smaller shape inside that had golden scales. As the door opened, i was unceremoniously tossed inside, landing in front of what appeared to be a sandwing, who leaped back with a sudden "eep!".

"Enjoy your new cell. Burn will be here in a couple of hours, so don't try to do anything stupid until she gets here." The guard said before swooping away, the other guards following shortly behind him. I watched them fly out, before getting up and trying to shake off the impact from the fall.

As i looked up, i saw what looked like a young female sandwing sitting at the opposite side of the cage, looking at me curiously. She definitely looked young, but that might have also been connected to her small size, her being the smallest dragon i had seen since i got here. She had golden scales that glittered in the sunlight, and large, questioning green eyes. She suddenly smiled up at me, and i almost felt myself flitch back, remembering the last sandwing i had met.

"Hey, I'm Sunny, what's your name?" She asked cheerfully. I stared at her for a moment in shock and confusing. This was the one dragon Fathom said I could trust with my secret? Why was she so cheerful, even though we were in prison? I decided to be polite though, and decided to answer her.

"Static, and before you ask, no, I don't know what kind of dragon i am." I replied, knowing that if i did manage escape, i would have to be using that answer a lot. She looked slightly displeased at my answer for a second, though quickly shoved it off and suddenly started talking again.

"Oh, well that's okay. I mean, I don't know why I look the way I do, so i guess that's fair. But then again, i guess that also explains why we are both probably going to be gifts for Burn." She replied. I cocked my head at her.

"There's something odd looking about you? What is it?" I asked her. She looked at me for a second with shock eminent on her face, before shaking it off and resumed talking with a confused look on her face.

"You can't tell? Have you never seen a sandwing before?" She asked. I grimaced. "Yes," I replied, "and you look a lot like them. I'm sorry, but I'm… kinda new around here. You But to me you look like a normal dragon." She blinked at me, before deciding to shake off her shock some more.

"Well, alright then. Well, normally sandwings aren't as small as I am, and they usually have black colored eyes whereas mine are green. Also," she said, swinging her tail in front of her, "I don't have the tail barb like most sandwings commonly do." It was true, where Sahara's tail had ended in a barb, Sunny's just smoothed out at the end, like a normal tail.

"Oh, alright then. Well, as you can tell, I'm not your ordinary dragon either," I replied, moving my arm over myself for emphasis, "According to other dragons, i seem to have many characteristics all shoved into one." I watched as a small cloud passed from my leg down to my tail.

"Wow, your scales are super cool!" She said, watching as another cloud drifted from my face to my wings. "I wonder how they do that. I bet if Starflight were here… oh! Have you seen any of my friends? There's Clay, a big mudwing, Starflight, a kind but timid nightwing, Tsunami, a tough seawing, and Glory, who is a hard working rainwing." Sunny asked me.

I thought for a moment, realizing that these were, in fact, all of the dragonets of this world's prophecy. "Yes, I have seen them." I replied. "Your friends Clay, Starflight and Tsunami are all in their own cells surrounding the arena. And Glory," I shivered for a moment, "is chained to a stone tree and being called Scarlet's "art". I replied. Sunny let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness they are all alright at least. But then again, since we're all part of a prophecy, w can't get killed, since we still have to fulfill the prophecy!" She replied, looking much chipper again. I looked at her in confusion, though looking at how pleased she looked, i decided not to disturb her line of thinking, since making others depressed is the last thing i ever want to do.

"So," she started, looking at me, "You said that you're not from around here, and you didn't even see how strange looking I was. So where are you from, if you're not from Pyrrhia?" she asked, looking at me. I thought for a second. If Fathom was right, it was okay to share the truth with this dragon. But then again, i don't usually like my first impression to others being that I'm insane. But then again, I felt like lying would be the worst option, so i decided on the good old option of "screw it."

"Well, before I begin, let me explain a few things." I started, and she got a mildly confused look on her face before nodding. "First of all, this will all sound crazy. Secondly, you're the first dragon I'm going to tell this too. Thirdly, please keep this all a secret, because I don't know how others will take it. Finally, this is going to be a lot to take in at once." She nodded to each one, though seemed mildly reluctant at the one of not telling others, more than likely wanting to tell her friends after we escaped.

"So," I began. "First of all, my real name is Jack. Static is just what I'm going by while I'm here. Next, this isn't my world. I arrived from some kind of cave that disappeared after i stepped out of it. Now this next part is what will probably make you the most skeptical, but please take me seriously." She looked confused at this point, though got a look of seriousness on her face before nodding.

"Alright then. In my world, I was a human, or what i've been informed are called scavengers in your world. However, I got turned into a dragon after…" I didn't get to complete my sentence as Sunny finished processing what I had said.

"You were a scavenger!?" She nearly yelled, but i quickly shushed her. "Wow! So does that mean that scavengers are intelligent after all? I've read scrolls that say that they might be as intelligent as cows, while others say they may be as smart as dragons! What was it like? How did you survive? Ooh, I bet Starflight would have so many questions on scavenger culture for you!" she replied.

I looked at her in utter shock as she continued asking questions. I had just told her the biggest part of my secret of who i was, and not one question was about if I was lying or not. I shrugged, starting to understand why Fathom said i could tell my secret to her. "Whoa whoa whoa, slow down Sunny. You can ask me more questions later, but I have to finish explaining first." She stopped talking and then quickly nodded.

I continued talking, going from one event to the next, explaining almost everything that had happened to me since i arrived here. When I mentioned the strange stone, she looked confused for a second, wondering what the stone was as well, and she also tried to figure out the strange more-than-likely prophecy that went with it.

I then explained my confusion at being a dragon, and how I breathed lightning instead of fire. She asked if I could show her, though when I explained how creating electricity in a metal cage might not be the greatest of ideas, she easily agreed.

Next, i explained my interactions with Scarlet, and then the interesting meetings with Peril. I described Clay's battle with Fjord, but i left out the part about Glory. I didn't know why, but i felt like Sunny shouldn't have to know about the pain that one of her friends caused, though she did feel sorry for Clay from what he had done.

I then explained my fight with Sahara, and my attempt to spare her life. I explained what Scarlet had done afterwards, I described my dreams of the strange dragon known as Fathom, I described the court session and the surprise twist it held, with Sunny feeling more remorse towards Kestrel, who was one of her former guardians. _"One of?"_ I thought, though decided to not dig deeper.

When i finally finished, Sunny had a look on her face, as if deep in thought. The whole time, she had only made a comment or two, and now she was silent. Finally, she opened her eyes which were closed, and spoke two words. "I'm sorry." she said. Silence fell between us for a moment, with it now being my turn to look shocked.

Finally, i grinned. "Hey, it's not your fault, so stop apologizing. Besides, if Fathom is right, then we might all get out of this alright." I said. Sunny appeared to be thinking again before a grin crossed her face.

"Yeah, you're right. Besides, we still have to get out of this prison. Though, I'm not so sure on how we're going to do that… But it doesn't matter now, at least. Thank you for sharing all of that, Jack." Sunny replied, looking at me. "I'm sure that once we escape, my friends will like you." she said.

I grinned back at her. For the first time in the last few days, i felt… relief? Happiness? Whatever it was, it definitely made me feel better. Sunny decided to talk again, deciding to ask questions about some things, such as how the stone might have been something called an animus object, and wondering how Fathom could have made the prophecy is he was some kind of ghost seawing, and how the creator was someone called Morrowseer.

I was going to try to answer as best as i could, more than likely bringing these questions up to Fathom later, but then i heard a noise. I looked out towards the open wall, and saw what looked like a squadron of sandwings flying to the palace, with a tough looking female in front. The dragon that wanted me dead to put me on a shelf was here.

Burn had arrived.

 **Author's Note: Man, even though i keep saying I'm not going to write these, I keep doing it! So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for all your comments and support in this series. Btw, Fathom is a character first mentioned I believe in book 6, but do not worry! I am still going to keep to the original storyline, no matter what occurs in book 10. I'm just having Fathom there as an idea, and we'll expand on some things later. I'm not going to spoil anything about him until i get to that point, which won't be a long time from now. So once again, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and as usual, the next chapter will be up next Wednesday.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sunny and i watched as the dragon in the lead who i could only assume as Burn swooped off from the rest of the dragons in the direction of the arena, meanwhile the other sandwings kept flying towards the palace. "I wonder what Burn is doing over in the arena?" I pondered aloud. Sunny made an "eep" sound, making me turn towards her with a confused look on my face.

"That was Burn?" Sunny asked me, looking a tad bit afraid. "How could you tell? What is she doing over where my friends are? What do you think is happening?" She asked, climbing over to the side of the cage, trying to peer over in the direction of the arena.

"I don't know. I only assumed that was Burn, because she seemed the most powerful of the Sandwings in that squadron. I've never seen her before, but seeing as how I was told that she was going to be here soon earlier, I could only assume that was her. And what do your friends have to worry about? We're the ones sitting in a cage to be added to some kind of collection of hers." I pointed out.

Sunny looked over to me with worry in her eyes. "That's right, you wouldn't know about how Burn hates the prophecy." Sunny said. "Years ago, while we were all still eggs waiting to hatch, Burn destroyed the Skywing egg in an attempt to stop the prophecy. That's why we have Glory instead of some Skywing."

"So the dragon out there not only murdered an unhatched egg, but also wants to kill anything involving the prophecy, and also kill dragons that look different and add them to her collection?" I asked, which Sunny nodded to. "Sunny, let me tell you, this place is insane. You are so far the second sainest dragon i've met, and the last one still would have killed me if we fought." Sunny slightly smiled, though still looked worried.

"Yeah, it hasn't been easy for me and my friends either. We were raised underground for almost our whole lives, until just a few days ago when we were taken prisoner by Scarlet after trying to escape the caves where we grew up." Sunny explained. "Our guardians were just trying to protect us, but they were still a bit harsh at times, even if i'll never admit that to the others."

"It sounds like with all of the saddest down in those caves, there needed to be some ray of sunshine for everyone to look at, even in the darkness of times, and you decided to take action." Sunny smiled up at me for my response. "Hey, it makes since. Where i come from, there is a belief of darkness and light. By the sounds of it, you were trying to even out the balance."

Sunny nodded again. "I did just want everyone to be happy. However, sometimes i don't think my friends few me all that highly and just see me as "everything is happy Sunny." They didn't even tell me they were planning to escape until they had to." Sunny looked down, looking slightly saddened.

"Hey, I'm sure your friends view you more highly than that." I said, trying to reassure her. "Just watch, as soon as everyone escapes, I'm sure they'll be happy to see you." Sunny looked up at me with a slight smile on her face.

"Thanks Jack." She said. Suddenly, there was the sound of wingbeats in the hallway, meaning that someone was coming. We decided to stop our conversation there, and we both watched as the Sandwing I noticed before swooped into the room, with Scarlet flying right next to her. Together, the two of them flew up to the cage.

Before, i had thought Scarlet had to be one of the cruelest dragons there could be. However, as this dragon flew outside the cage and stared at me with menacing black eyes, i could just tell that she was worse. She was larger than Scarlet, and had many scratches along her, as if she was in combat often. Her face cast a cold glare at Sunny an I, and I knew she was ready to kill us at any moment.

"There you go, Queen Burn. One deformed Sandwing and one mystery dragon. I'm sure you'll find them a thrilling gift to add to your collection." Scarlet said, waving her hand towards us. Burn continued to glare, and i realized she was not only looking at me, but at every aspect at me, as if she was measuring me up.

"I'm quite impressed Scarlet." Burn said in a voice that made me want to shiver." "These two will fit just right in inside my weirdling tower. I'll be sure to take them with me when i depart." With that, the two began to fly back towards the entrance. Once they were gone, i let out a breath i hadn't known i was holding, and Sunny did the same.

"Wow," I said, looking towards Sunny. "And i thought Scarlet was scary. Burn is just downright terrifying." I said, emphasizing my point by shivering again.

"Yeah, i feel that way too. I hated the way she was staring at us, as if she was deciding where exactly to put us on some kind of shelf." Sunny said, shivering as well. "But then again, Burn is known to be a nasty dragon, at least in how she is described in the scrolls. Supposedly, she even mounts her victims heads on pikes outside her castle's walls." Sunny said.

"Well, thanks for that mental image." I replied, making Sunny grin. "But if she is so terrible, why are dragons fighting for her? And what are the other two sisters like? Are they as bad as her, and that's why no one can decide?" I asked.

Sunny thought for a moment, before explaining. "Well, in a way, the other two sisters are supposed to be just as bad, but in different ways. Whereas Burn is violent, and probably wants to keep the war going even if she won, her sister Blaze is manipulative and would more than likely try to find a way to be queen of all the tribes. Meanwhile, Blaze, is supposed to be a complete clutz and only cares about themselves. That's what i've been informed of, anyway."

"Meanwhile, the other tribes are fighting for each sister for their own reasons. I don't remember the specifics of what each sister is doing for each tribe, but i do know if one sister loses, then the tribes working with them also lose, and that's why they keep on trying to fight."

I nodded, getting a better understanding of the situation. "Well, if all three are so terrible, why doesn't someone else be queen? If you found a sandwing who could fill the role and wasn't part of any side, wouldn't that work out for everyone? Everyone loses, but then no more lives have to be lost." As i finished speaking, Sunny shook her head.

"I wish that could be done, but unfortunately, only family such as sisters or daughters can challenge the queen for her throne. If anyone could be queen, there would be utter chaos on who should be in charge, and there would be even more dragons killing each other for the role." Sunny once more explained, in which i nodded my head in understanding.

"Well, in that case, i guess you'll just need to find out who's worst of the three, but in my opinion Burn is already pretty terrible." Sunny nodded in agreement. "But in any case, a decision can't be made until everyone escapes, so how about we try to come up with some kind of escape plan? I bet if you escaped and rescued your friends, they would all be even happier to see you."

Sunny smiled brightly, and so we discussed on possible escape ideas for a bit. Sunny could potentially melt the lock to the cage, and i could provide cover as we run through the palace with my lightning. However, there would be the problems with all of the guards, and also that i couldn't fly. When testing if Sunny could melt the wires around my wings, we found that they appeared to be fireproof, and could only be taken off by a guard.

Potentially, we could try to get a guard up here and have him take off the bindings, but then we still had to get to the arena and save Sunny's friends. Then there was the problem of getting to Sunny's friend Glory, who always seemed to be around Scarlet. After discussing for a while, we soon realised it would take a miracle for us all to escape. Luckily, Sunny believed in miracles, and i could only hope that Fathom was correct that we would be able to escape.

As we sat in the cage thinking hard about escape ideas as the sun began to drift down from the sky, there was a commotion in the hallway. As we both looked up to see what was going on, many dragons swooped into the room, all carrying different trays, all stacked with different amounts of varieties of food. They quickly swooped all along the table underneath us, putting down their trays in their own areas before swooping back down the hall.

This occurred for about ten minutes until all the dragons were gone, and the table was stocked with many different foods, some even alive but stuck in small pens. As I looked around the table, my eyes focused on one pen on a far side of the table. Sitting inside of the pen was four humans, or scavengers as they are known as here. They looked like normal people, with tanned skin and long hair.

As i watched and all the dragons had left, the people appeared to burst into action, trying to find a way out of the cage. I saw movement beside me as i watched them, and i saw that Sunny had come up beside me to watch them as well.

It appeared that they were climbing on top of each other's shoulders, trying to get over the fence of the pen they were in. Together, they got to the top, and then reached down to start pulling the others with them. After they were all over, they made their way to the edge of the table, looking like they were trying to find a way down.

"Wow, scavengers really are determined." Sunny said, watching them as i did as well. However, as the scavengers started climbing down the side of the table, there was a commotion in the hallway, and they froze. After a moment, many dragons started to flood into the room, with mainly Skywings but with some Sandwings mixed in. As they entered, there was a small shriek and the scavengers dropped to the floor, hiding under the table.

As the dragons kept entering, making their way to different spots around the table, Sunny and i watched as Scarlet and Burn entered, and flew over to the thrones at the end of the table. As they landed, they waited a moment while more dragons quickly seated themselves, and then Scarlet made a flapping gesture with her wings. As soon as she did that, there was an instant silence.

After it was completely silent, Scarlet began to speak. "I would like to thank you all for being able to attend this dinner party for the night before my hatching day. Tomorrow, we are sure to have many thrilling and gruesome battles in my arena for your enjoyment, but for now, you are allowed to either eat, converse, or take a look at the two strange dragons that will soon be a gift for Burn."

As Scarlet said that last part, she made a gesture with her wing towards our cage. As everyone looked, Sunny shrunk away, meanwhile i gave Scarlet a cold, dead stare. She either didn't see it or decided not to react, and after a minute, the diner party began.

Due to the amount of conversation going on below and the occasional dragon coming up to look at us, Sunny and i wouldn't be able to talk privately. I decided that that was fine though, due to how all we were doing before was coming up with escape plans that didn't work. By the looks of how everything was going, the only chance for escape was going to be from the arena battles the next day, or if an opportunity occurred this night.

I decided to check back on the people below, trying to see if i could spot them. After a minute of searching, i saw a couple of them trying to silently sneak towards the large open door. However, after a minute, a Skywing swooped down in front of them, blocking their path. I could only watch as the two tried to run, but as the Skywing went to grab one, one of them quickly shoved the other in front of them, pushing them under the table, but getting caught themselves. I couldn't watch anymore, knowing the sad fate for that person.

I decided after that that i was done with the party, and i lied down next to the side of the cage that faced the open wall that showed the outside world. As i did, Sunny sat down opposite of me, looking down towards the other dragons. We both stayed silent, both of us lost in our thoughts.

I decided to just look out towards the night sky, watching as three moons sat in the sky. The fact that there were three whole moons meant that this definitely wasn't my world, which i was somewhat glad about. It would probably make me even sadder if i was in some form of dystopian future of my world.

After a few hours of just staring at the sky, i heard something that caught my attention. It sounded like a soft note to something, and i decided to listen closer. As i focused, i began to make out more notes, being played in some rhythm i didn't know. After i finally focused on it, the notes appeared to get louder by just a little bit, and more confident.

After five minutes, i could hear a repeating pattern, and soon, i was even beginning to hear words go along with it. As i listened, i began to hear a soft song forming out of the melody, a short verse about the dragonets.

 _The dragonets are coming…_

 _They're coming to save the day…_

 _They're coming to fight, for they know what's right…_

 _The dragonets…_

When i finally made out the lyrics, i realised that the room had gone deathly silent, all the dragons listening to the ghostly quiet tune. I looked around the room as the song kept being sung, seeing many different expressions on dragon's faces: confusion, sadness, guilt, regret, and hope.

However, as i looked over at the queens, i saw a completely different expression: pure anger. Scarlet appeared so angry she had smoke coming out of her nose. She suddenly stood up, then flew out of the room through the open side, with Burn and the guards following close beside her.

I knew this would have been a perfect time to escape, but if attempted, Scarlet or Burn would just straight up kill me if i was caught. Besides, i knew that the song was most likely performed by the other dragonets, so trying to save them and escape right now while they would soon be watched closely would be impossible.

I decided to lie back down, and as i did, the music soon stopped. After about ten minutes, Scarlet and Burn returned, still looking very upset. I decided to try to just sleep away the rest of the diner party, but due to the conversations going on once more below, i couldn't. So for a long time, i just layed on the ground, waiting for the party to end.

After a time had passed, i saw movement out of the corner of my eye, in the doorway of the room. As i stared, I saw Peril's head peak around the corner, quickly inspecting the room. After a minute, her head ducked back, and then a dragon started running past that i recognized as Clay. I quickly nudged Sunny and pointed, and we watched as the one's known as Starflight and Tsunami also ran past.

Sunny had a massive smile on her face, and i could only presume that she was happy because her friends were escaping. I was also a tad happy, glad that not only were they escaping, but that Peril was taking a step to not listen to Scarlet.

That happiness, however, soon disappeared, due to how Peril stood in the doorway for a minute. I could once more only watch as she started waving around her wings, and when i followed her eyes, i realised she was getting Scarlet's attention. Peril was not only helping the dragonet's escape, but help Scalet capture them.

After a moment, Scarlet noticed, rolled her eyes, pointed at some guards, then flew towards the exit, with the guards following closely behind. After they left, i looked over at Sunny, who looked devastated, and i knew i had to reassure her.

However, as i started to go over, i felt a wave of dizziness, and then fell over to my side, going unconscious for no reason that i knew of.

 _I was once more in the open clearing, surrounded by trees, though this time Fathom was already standing in front of me._ "I am sorry to have to interrupt you, but i found it important that i talk to you. I hoped that you would accomplish it on your own, but you were not falling asleep of your own accord." _Fathom explained._

 _I shrugged, knowing that i did need to talk to Fathom and ask him some questions, some that Sunny wanted me to ask him. "_ Well alright then. I do have a few questions, but if something important is going to happen, then i guess i'll let you talk first." _I said._

"Alright then, that makes things easier. First of all, do not be angry at Peril. She has many issues she is working on, but if you give her your trust and your friendship, she will be an important ally in the future, and not an enemy." _Fathom explained._

 _At first, i didn't want to agree, because at this point i was starting to think Peril couldn't be helped. But as i thought back, i realized that she did appear to be aiding the dragonets in their escape, at least until she decided to betray them. But i could only agree that Peril would be better as a friend rather an enemy, and nodded in agreement._

"Alright then. Now that that is settled, we should discuss the bigger issue." _Fathom said, looking grim. "_ Tomorrow, Scarlet is having you fight in her arena. One, be sure to survive. Secondly, if put up against the dragonets, any of them, do not fight. It is important that they survive, and tomorrow is one of the more dangerous of the days within their future."

 _I nodded once more, knowing as much. If i was getting out of here, my only escape was through the dragonets, and i couldn't have them help me if they were dead. "_ Alright then. Those were the two matters of importance, so if you have any questions in the short time you are in this realm, now would be the time." _Fathom explained._

"Alright then. First of all, what are you? Are you a spirit, some dragon finding a strange way of communication using dreams, or what?" _I asked him. I found this the most mysterious of the questions, and wanted an answer._

 _He smiled, before replying. "_ No, i am not a ghost. Though technically i am not alive either, now that i think about it. No, i am only an embodiment of my past self, and i am acting as a form of guide, being able to lock onto a single dragon. I have been waiting a long time, waiting to aid that dragon when a specific threat appeared, as i mentioned before." _He explained._

 _I decided that asking him how he did that would be a good question, though decided to save it for later. "_ Alright then, i suppose. Better answer than nothing." _I said. "_ So i was informed by Sunny that a dragon named Morrowseer came up with the prophecy, though yesterday you said that you and your friend did. So what's the truth?" _I asked, doing one of Sunny's questions._

 _Fathom cocked his head, as if thinking for a second, before replying_ "Well, i can't go into detail as to why Morrowseer didn't actually make the prophecy, but knowing what would soon occur, a real prophecy was made, and then by connecting myself to him, i influenced him to make the real prophecy." _Fathom explained, in which i nodded._

 _I went to ask another question, but once more the world began to shake, showing that I was waking up. "_ Remember," _Fathom said, looking at me._ "Survive the arena, and make sure no harm comes to the dragonets." _As he finished talking, the world went black for a moment, in which i then woke up._

I woke up to the sound of the door of the cage being opened, and Sunny asking what was happening. As i opened my eyes, i saw guards around the cage, and then two pairs of arms grabbed me and dragged me out, leaving Sunny behind as the cage was closed once more.

As i was being taken out of the room and towards the hall, i heard Sunny cry out to me, telling me to keep myself and her friends safe. I promised myself, Sunny and Fathom at that moment that i would do everything in my power to make sure that everything went right.

Even if it killed me.

I was taken through yet another different path, and this time when we reached the destination, i found myself in somewhere i wasn't expecting. I was on Scarlet's viewing podium of the arena, with the devil herself looking around with utter glee. On one side of her was Burn, who was looking bored, and chained up on either side of her were Clay and Starflight.

I was soon chained up beside Clay, who gave me a questioning and worried look as i was chained beside him. After a moment of chaining me to some heavier chains, the guards left, leaving me there overlooking the arena. I looked around, noticing that the arena was more packed than before, and already standing in the arena was Tsunami.

Nextly, i heard a wheeling sound behind me, and watched as two Skywings put out Glory on her tree stand, which i noticed was made of stone. Now that i was more up close, i felt more fear of this dragon, due to what i had seen before. I also noticed how flimsy the chain on her neck was, and wondered why she hadn't attempted escape herself as of yet.

I wasn't the only one staring at Glory though, and saw that the other dragons, such as Burn and Scarlet, were also looking at her. I decided to use this distraction to get a small chance to talk to Clay. If i let him know i was on his side, he might be more willing to help me id him and his friends.

I lightly nudged him, and when he looked at me, i spoke as quietly and quickly as possible. "Hello, so my name is Static, and i don't have much time to explain. I know where your friend Sunny is, and if you're willing not to attack me, i'm willing to lead you to her and help you and all of your friends escape." As i finished explaining, he looked overjoyed at what i had said.

"Sunny's alright? And you know where she is? Alright, I'm willing to help in any way i can, though i don't exactly have an escape plan as of yet." He said. I nodded, expecting as much. I still had to come up with some plan that occurred today, or else everything would go wrong.

Once more, like the previous day, Scarlet got everyone's attention, and the stadium was quiet. She then went into some spiel about her hatching day, and then showed off how she had the dragonets, in which there was much whispering. I could hear some of the whispers, many excited about seeing the dragonets of the prophecy, in which Burn and Scarlet were looking upset once more. I grinned at that, glad that they weren't having as much fun as they were hoping for.

The first fight of the day was announced, declaring the dragonet of destiny, Tsunami, the first fighter. Against her would be Gill, the insane and deranged Seawing i was put next to when I was locked up. I crossed my talons, praying that she would be able to defeat Gill, because I knew he wouldn't be holding anything back.

As Gill was dropped down, Tsunami went to square off with him, but he quickly charged her, not even making an effort to make a strategy, Tsunami dodged aside his charge, raking her claws against his gills.

The battle was quiet, with Gill swinging helplessly as Tsunami attacked him. His movements were desperate, and i saw that a few swings managed to hit. However, the inevitable outcome occurred, with Gill bleeding profusely, and Tsunami standing on top of him.

Tsunami yelled at Scarlet and the stadium, trying to get the battle to end there. However, Scarlet wasn't taking any of that, and started taunting Tsunami instead. By the expression on her face, i knew that Tsunami was hating what she was hating. She then looked Scarlet dead in the eyes, grabbed Gill by the horns, then….

I quickly looked away, though i heard the loud snap. I felt pity for Gill as the crowd cheered, but i knew it had to be done, and was glad he was at least given mercy from his fate. As i looked back, i saw the dragons in the stands throwing down flowers and gems, whilst Tsunami looked disgusted at all of them.

As the stadium was cleared, i noticed that Tsunami was left down there, and suddenly many guards were surrounding not only me, but also Starflight. I listened to the announcements, hearing that we were to be put in a three-way match, with two of the dragonets facing not only each other, but also myself.

I was lowered down onto one side, and saw opposite of me on my left was Starflight, looking at me with extreme looks of worry, and to my right, Tsunami, who looked like she was eyeing me up, deciding how to strike first.

And with the announcer finishing his speech, the battle began. Tsunami and Starflight rushed towards each other, and for a second i thought they were about to fight. I stood still and watched however, as they met up and quickly hugged each other. As the audience cooed and Scarlet yelled at them, wanting them to fight, the two looked at me, and i felt like i was in trouble.

Knowing that not only was i supposed to keep them safe, but also not get myself killed, i quickly did what i had to do. I raised up my front hands, surrendering to them. They both gave me looks of confusion, meanwhile Scarlet looked like she was making her own cloud with how much smoke was coming out of her.

"Look, i can't exactly explain right now, due to how we're surrounded in an arena, but i'm not here to fight either of you, so please don't hurt me." I said. Starflight gave me a puzzled look, meanwhile Tsunami looked suspicious.

"How do we know this isn't a trick?" Tsunami asked me, starting to move in a circling movement around me, with Starflight beside her.

"Because Sunny thinks I'm an alright dragon, and by the way, she's fine." I explained to her. Tsunami stopped moving, and Starflight's head shot towards me.

"Sunny's alright? Where is she? How is she doing?" Starflight quickly asked me. I was going to reply, but i was interrupted by Scarlet's yelling again.

"THIS IS NOT A THRILLING FIGHT! WHERE IS THE VIOLENCE ALREADY?! FIGHT EACH OTHER!" She yelled. She stared daggers at all of us as the arena was silent. Starflight went to hide behind Tsunami, meanwhile both her and I stared back at Scarlet definitely.

I then grinned, and made a cocky response that I was sure was probably going to get me killed. "Nah, I'm good." I replied, before sitting down and staring at my claws, like i had seen Scarlet do before.

I glanced up and saw an actual cloud of smoke appear around Scarlet, with the occasional lick of flame appearing. "FINE!" Scarlet yelled. "I'll make you fight! Bring out the scavengers! And if you don't kill these creatures, i'll kill you all myself!" Scarlet yelled.

I paled. Not only was i being forced to fight, but it was going to be against humans, and forced to take their lives. Beside me, however, was two of the dragonets of destiny, so i knew i had a chance.

All i had to do was survive the arena and everything else Scarlet had in store, and i would survive, and i would be one step closer to getting home.

 **Author's note (guess we're having one every chapter now): I'm sorry to leave this chapter on such as exciting note, but since im on spring break right now, if i remember to, i might write more and get another chapter up** _ **before**_ **next wednesday. Be sure to remind me though in the comments, which every single one is helpful. Seriously, every time i get a notification saying a new review has been added, i always make a happy little grin. Also, on one of them, yes, i personally do believe in dragons, due to how they are the living embodiment of awesomeness. In fact, im writing a informative essay on them for school, cause i can. But anyhow, thank you all for reading and commenting and all your support, and if you want to make fanart, post it online and i'll be sure to look at it, or if you want me to, i might even use it as a cover. So thank you all, and i'll make another note in the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

As we stared defiantly at Scarlet (well, Tsunami and I were. Starflight was just hiding behind Tsunami), Scarlet and Burn stared back at us with equally piercing glares, and Scarlet beckoned the announcer towards her without taking her eyes off us, me specifically. "Vermillion," she practically hissed, "Release the scavengers. _All_ of them." The announcer nodded his head quickly, then flew towards a couple of guards, who flew towards a doorway.

Our little staring contest lasted what seemed like forever, with the crowd being equally quiet, with the occasional murmur here and there. After what seemed like an hour, though was only about five minutes, there was a sound of a gate opening, and as i looked towards it, i saw what looked like two cages being pushed forwards.

In the first cage was what appeared to be three humans, two female, two male, and all of which had swords. In the second cage were two humans, both female, but unlike the people in the first cage who looked either uncertain or afraid, these two wore serious expressions, as if they were ready for the fight ahead, and accepted their fate if they died.

I did not have a good feeling about this.

After the cages were wheeled out to the edge of the entrance, the guards flew to the top and sliced off a binding, in which the doors dropped down. The two females in the first cage walked out, while the two males were forced out by spears that the guards poked through the cage.

In the second cage, however, the two females walked out with their heads held high, and stood once in the opening, examining their surroundings. When their eyes locked on me, separated from Tsunami and Starflight and by themselves, they started mumbling to each other and pointing at me. Once more, i didn't have a good feeling about this.

"Hey!" Tsunami shouted at me. "You deal with those two, we'll deal with these four." Tsunami said, then glared at me. "That is, if you are on our side." And with that, she pounced at the humans. One got flung into the crowd, which i quickly looked away from, not wanting to see what happened, while one ran screaming, running face first into a wall, not getting up afterwards. The two females, however, dodged, and looked ready for a fight.

Speaking of which, the two that were facing me lept into action, going onto separate sides of me, trying to distract me or get me to only focus on one. I could only pray that they weren't as smart as the people from my world, and were just acting on instinct. Putting that hope in my mind, i prepared to defend myself.

Since they were going on either side of me, i quickly swept my tail on my right side, to try and whack the first one, while preparing my lightning and facing the one on my left. As i breathed lightning in the direction of the one on my left, i felt something hit my tail, and for a second i thought i had hit the first, but then the pain arrived.

I screamed out in pain, which caused my lightning to send out even stronger than i had meant it to. The crowd fled in fear as my lightning went in all directions, and even managing to hit the person i was aiming for, who screamed out in pain, in which i tried to ignore.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that the scavengers wasn't hit by my lightning directly, but rather had been shocked by the sword that they held, which had acted like a lightning rod. While it stood dazed, I took the advantage, and quickly swept my tail forward, hitting the woman and sending her flying into the crowd.

I didn't have to look to see what had happened, and I heard a shout of dismay and watch as the other scavenger ran to where the other one had once been, falling to her knees. I could only watch as tears fell from her face at the loss of the other female.

After what seemed like forever, i realised that the crowd wasn't paying attention anymore, and was focusing on Tsunami's and Starflight's fight. It appeared that they were having difficulties with their scavengers, with one of them starting to climb on Starflight while the other faced off with Tsunami.

I didn't watch for long, however, as the other female started to get up. I watched as she got up, then grabbed not only her sword, but also the other's. She then turned towards me, and i saw her in full detail. She had long brown hair, blue eyes, appeared to be an early adult, 20 at most, and almighty angry.

She yelled at the top of her lungs, and then charged for me, not appearing to care about if i used my breath again. I didn't want to have to cause any more pain, but i knew that if i didn't do something, i would surely be killed.

I waited for the right moment, then right as she was in front of me, i swung my right hand at her. She quickly stopped, pointing her swords at my hand, anticipating that i would stab my hand as i swung. I knew this would happen, and stopped my swing, sweeping my tail quickly, and kicked her off her feet.

When she landed with an "Oof.", i quickly grabbed the two swords, sliding them in between my scales and the bindings of my wings, then grabbed her with both of my hands. She immediately started trying to squirm her way out of my grip, but i held firm and pulled her straight up to my face. "Stop it." I said as sternly as possible, trying to get her to stop.

Surprisingly, she did, and just stared at me in pure shock. While she was shocked silent for some reason, i quickly looked around to see what was happening. Scarlet was looking increasingly bored, meanwhile Starflight looked extremely dazed as the human that had been on him rolled away, and Tsunami kept failing to face off with hers.

"How… how did i understand you?" The woman in my grasp slowly spoke out. I looked at her confusedly, before she started shouting at me. "HOW CAN A DRAGON SPEAK THE SAME AS ME?! AND IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME, WHY DID YOU KILL MY ONLY FRIEND!? WHY DO YOU TORTURE US LIKE THIS, MAKING US FIGHT FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT?!" she screamed at me.

I looked at her sadly, not wanting to focus on the fact that she was right on what i had done to her friend. "I'm not doing this because i want to. I'm a prisoner all the same. And as for understanding and speaking the same as you, well, let's just say i'm not from around here." I spoke softly, knowing that if other dragons couldn't understand this person, then if they realized I was conversing with her… well, i'm not sure what would happen.

Suddenly, the woman was ripped from my talons, and i realized that it was the guards who had returned, and they were shoving all of the people into a single cage. I looked over to see Tsunami and Starflight were still fine, though Tsunami had a few cuts on her. I looked at my tail, seeing that it also had a minor cut on it from when i swung my tail.

I watched as the people were taken away, and the woman who i had talked to was staring at me, an emotionless expression on her face, not taking her eyes off of me until she could no longer see me. I honestly did not know how to feel, knowing that the humans in this world were sentient, and that i was possibly one of the only ones who could talk with them.

"Ugh, how very disappointing." Scarlet growled. "Well, might as well have an exceptionally bloody battle to get rid of all of you nuisances at once and to make my hatching day more thrilling. Send in all of the Icewings!" Scarlet shouted.

I realized how dead i would be in a second if something didn't happen. If we were to fight all of the Icewings, three to however many there were, we would surely be killed. I could barely fight, and from what i had seen from Fjord, Icewings were quite the adversaries. At this point, I could only cross my talons, praying for a miracle, and hoping Fathom was right.

Thankfully, a miracle occurred, though not exactly as i was hoping for.

Suddenly, there was silence in the arena, and as i looked to see what everyone was looking at, i saw a very large Nightwing approaching. He was easily one of the largest dragons i had ever seen, being a bit larger than even Burn, and he carried with him a menacing atmosphere that just screamed trouble.

"Morrowseer." I heard Tsunami hiss, while meanwhile Starflight looked uncertain, Clay looked hopeful, and the two queens looked almighty mad, with more smoke pouring out of Scarlet.

""What do you think you are doing here?" Scarlet demanded, glaring up at the Nightwing above. I could only watch the disinterested looking dragon, connecting the dots and realizing that he was the one that Fathom had used for the prophecy, and wondered if he was the miracle that Fathom said would happen.

That's what i get for being hopeful too soon, i guess.

"I'm here to claim our dragonet." Morrowseer said in a deep voice, pointing at Starflight. As he said no more, i felt my hope drop, realizing he was only here for Starflight. Tsunami hissed, backing towards Starflight, in which Morrowseer looked down, continuing to look disinterested. His eyes went over me, looking mildly confused and interested, but soon kept going on their way.

Scarlet proceeded to yell at Morrowseer, questioning him about the Nightwings and complaining about wanting to see Starflight fight, and how today was suppose to be thrilling because it was her hatching day.

Morrowseer did not look overly impressed, and to be perfectly honest, neither was I. She was supposed to be this evil queen, and here she was whining like a four year old. Of course, i didn't say that out loud, due to how I did want to live.

As she complained about wanting to see Starflight fight Icewings, I saw Morrowseer's tail twitch. It was a small movement, but it caused a mighty reaction, being a symbol that was to be watched for.

Suddenly, the whole sky turned black, blocked out by a massive swarm of dragons appearing quickly out of seemingly nowhere, but most likely flew up from the opposite cliff. As the horde of Nightwings appeared, several swooped down towards where the prisoners were kept, and surrounded the Icewings, shoving the guards out of the way.

What happened next… it was unforgivable. To say the least, there were no more Icewing prisoners, and during that confusion, Morrowseer had swooped down and grabbed Starflight. Tsunami tried to stop him, but was knocked away by Morrowseer's tail. I couldn't do anything, knowing that with this many Nightwings, attacking him would sign my death warrant.

Then, as soon as all of the Nightwings had appeared, they left, leaving the dragonets, dead Icewings, and a furious queen behind them. Scarlet, to say the least, was screaming in fury at this point.

"I will at least have one thrilling fight today!" She screamed. She pointed at some guards, and then at Tsunami and I. "Get those two back into chains up here, have this dragonet prepared for battle," Scarlet said, pointing at Clay. "And fetch my champion."

As I was taken away, I realized what Scarlet intended to do. She meant to kill Clay, who I had noticed was the other dragon who had befriended Peril. So not only did she intend to ruin the prophecy, but she also wanted to make Peril kill her friend.

Sadly, there wasn't anything i could do about it. If i offered myself, i would surely die. I knew that Clay had formed a good enough relationship with Peril to convince her to help him and his friends escape, and i could only count on that fact and hope that CLay would be able to face Peril in battle.

As i was taken up to Scarlet, I saw that Scarlet was smirking while looking down below, where Clay now stood, lying in wait to face Peril. As i was re-chained up, i could hear Scarlet talking to Burn, quietly enough so that only I would be able to hear her other than Burn. "Say, do you think you can turn that peculiar dragon that shoots lightning into one of your displays before you leave my palace? I would just find it absolutely _thrilling_ to watch the pain on his face as you kill him."

I felt myself pale, now knowing that unless the miracle that i was looking for occurred soon, I would find myself on display as just another dead dragon for Burn to look at. I looked down at Clay, who was now facing Peril, who looked distressed at having to battle Clay. I could only hope that the miracle would occur soon, knowing that it also had to ensure that Clay survived this fight.

As the announcer Vermillion took flight, he started talking about the current battle, discussing what was on the line. However, a certain line stuck out from the rest, explaining why Peril was fighting Clay instead of any of the other dragonets, and it wasn't because of my original assumption.

Clay was immune to fire.

I felt relieved and distressed at the same time. If Clay was immune to Peril's flames, then he would be able to fight her. However, that meant that Peril might die instead, and not only would i lose one of the first dragons willing to help me in this strange world, but also the dragonet's guardian and Peril's mother, Kestrel, would be killed, and Clay would still be kept prisoner here, along with the rest of us.

If that miracle could happen, now was the time for it.

As Clay and Peril started to face off, I could hear them talking. As Clay rammed into Peril, telling him how he just wanted to save his friends, Peril looked annoyed, screaming at him that he didn't need his friends, he just needed her.

That's when i connected more dots. I may have been one of Peril's friends, but Clay seemed to be much more to her. Remembering what both Peril and Sunny had said, i could only conclude that Peril had talked to Clay before i had gotten here, and as we both started talking to her, she must have latched onto what Clay was saying.

Being possibly the first ever dragon to ever be nice to her, and since he was fireproof, he could actually touch her without hurting him, i could only make the connection that Peril had fallen for Clay. I also saw it in her battle style. As Clay kept ramming into her while trying to talk, she only ever made the occasional swipe that missed.

She didn't want to kill Clay, even if it not only meant her life, but also her mother's. As this realization hit me, Scarlet started to get bored of the battle occurring down below once more. "Come on, do something exciting. Mudwing, use your venom from the other day! That was just thrilling!"

I had froze, along with Clay and Peril stopping their fight, the two of them looking confused. I looked towards Scarlet, realizing that she didn't know about her "art's" secret weapon. And as i looked towards Scarlet, i saw it happen.

Glory was at full alert, the complete opposite of how she was acting whenever Scarlet

was watching her, and had her lower jaw unhinged. She pointed her jaw at Burn, aiming to hit her square in the eyes.

As the venom sprayed, Burn quickly dodged out of the way, having the venom miss. However, i took this as the opportunity i had been looking for to escape, and quickly swung my tail forwards, knocking Scarlet forward, sending her face directly into the path of the venom.

For a second, there was complete silence, the only sound being that of the _smack_ as the venom sprayed itself all alongside Scarlet's face. Then, the screaming started again. Scarlet screamed in pure pain, as the stadium rose in an uproar, dragons trying to fly away in mass panic.

As Scarlet continued to scream, Burn had an expression of pure terror cross her face, then flew away into the mass of dragons as fast as she could. I looked towards Glory, slightly afraid myself, but she quickly broke her flimsy chains and nodded at me, before going to look at Tsunami's chains, meanwhile asking Glory what she had just done.

Nextly, Peril and Clay flew up to the rest of us, Peril having Glory move out of the way so she could carefully melt off the metal wires binding Tsunami's wings, which i had noticed she had done to Clay as well. As she finished doing that, Tsunami was freed, but she just continued to glare at Peril, more than likely due to how she had betrayed them before.

"Um, do you think you can do that for me as well? I kind of don't want to stick around here much longer." I spoke up. Peril quickly turned towards me, then started working at my bindings. Meanwhile, the dragonets talked to each other, telling each other how they were glad they were safe, and questioning Glory's venom.

"And… there, that's all of the bindings." Peril said. I shrugged off the wires, moving each of my limbs and stretching them all out for the first time since i had gotten here. As i did that, Peril went to talk to the dragonets. When i finished, they all looked towards me.

"I'm still not sure about letting him come with us…" Tsunami said, looking mildly paranoid while staring at me. Clay looked confident, while Glory had a look on her face as if she was still trying to figure me out.

"He said he knows where Sunny is, and said she is alright. By the sounds of it, if Sunny can trust him, we can trust him." Clay said, nudging Tsunami with a wing and looking at me.

"Well, i think Peril knows the castle better than i, so she should lead the way. Besides, I don't exactly know where I'm going to go afterwards, so since we're all prisoners, we might as well all escape together, right?" I said, while looking around.

Peril smiled and nodded, telling the dragonets to follow her. As she went forward, leading us into the castle, Glory nodded, Tsunami gave me an uncertain look, and Clay smiled, before all three went to follow Peril as well.

As we followed Peril through the halls, we saw dragons scattered everywhere. The former order of the castle was gone, everyone panicking due to how there was mass confusion at what was occurring.

As we finally made it to the dining area, i saw Peril and the dragonets fly up to the cage, leaving me behind. I decided to make myself useful, guarding the doorway, watching out for any guards while they got Sunny out.

Once they did that, i found myself being tackled into a hug from behind. "Jack, you're alright too!" she yelled out from behind me, before letting go and looking at me. I smiled at her as she smiled back. Even in a scenario such as a prison break, Sunny was still happy, since all of her friends were alright.

Well, almost all of her friends. "Where's Starflight?" Sunny asked, looking around at the other dragonets. Clay looked saddened, meanwhile Tsunami and Glory looked furious. Tsunami explained how the Nightwings had only saved him, leaving the rest of them there.

Sunny nodded, looking mildly saddened. "Hey," I said, getting her attention. "At least you know he's safe, and no longer here where Scarlet would still be able to get her claws on him. And the rest of your friends are still with you, so there's that as well." As i said this, even Tsunami couldn't stop herself from smiling a little bit at my reassurance.

Sunny nodded, and we looked towards Peril. "So," I said, "You have any escape plans to get us all out of here? Because now that all of the dragonets are together and none of us are in chains, I don't exactly have any escape plans."

Peril looked mildly amused before Clay shouted out, "But wait, we still have to rescue Kestrel!" This line alone sparked many emotions. As Sunny and Peril nodded their heads in agreement, Glory and Tsunami looked outraged at the idea. There was soon an argument ensueing, with Glory and Tsunami wanting nothing to do with Kestrel.

The dispute was soon ended with Glory going to a secret waterfall that only Peril knew about, taking Sunny with her. I went with Peril, Tsunami and Clay, making sure that the two of them would be safe, along with promising Sunny i would bring them back to her alright.

As we passed through the halls, we made it without any issues with any guards, the most happening being Peril accidently brushing her wing against a fleeing dragon, sending him down to the ground in pain. As we made it to the center chamber, the two jumped down, letting their wings catch them as they went to the gate below.

I opened my wings, taking what i had known from before of my muscle movement to get them fully opened, then jumped down, relying on my wings to hold me up and glide me down as well.

It was a rush, moving through the air with only my wings. I wasn't flying, but the sensation enough was enough to get my heart racing in excitement. When i finally reached the ground, I looked towards Clay and Peril, who were already at the gate. As they got her out, i watched out for guards.

Right as the gate opened, two guards turned the corner. "Two guards approaching!" I yelled at Peril and Clay, before stepping forwards toward the two. I quickly took a deep breath, then let my electricity shoot into the hall they were coming from. If they were smart, they would stay back away from my electricity, which would give them enough time to get Kestrel out.

As my breath finally wore out, the two guards charged forward, just to have one be tackled by Clay, while the other one ran from Peril. I didn't watch to see what Peril did to that guard, but i did however watch as Clay talked to the guard in front of him, who then ran with fear in her eyes.

As Peril looked saddened by what he had done, i heard a shout from behind me. "Why are you letting that guard get away!? Now she's going to alert the whole palace of our whereabouts! And why do you have a strange dragon with you? What have i told you about trusting random dragons!?"

I looked towards the source, seeing Kestrel standing in front of Clay while glaring at me, trading her glare around to the other two dragons. "Kestrel, I presume." I said. Her head swung towards me, her glare locking onto me. "I'm just another dragon trying to escape, and I figured I'd help the dragonets as well."

She looked ready to yell at me, but then Peril stood in front of me, though keeping her distance so she didn't touch me. "We don't have time to worry about that now." She said with authority in her voice. "For now, let's just all get out of here." There was no response from Kestrel, and as we started to move, i kept as close to Peril as i could, keeping my distance from Kestrel.

We finally got to a cliff that had a waterfall running over its side, with no guards getting in our way. As we glided down, Peril suddenly swooped into the waterfall, and i realized that this was the waterfall cave that she had mentioned.

As we got inside, i flew to the farthest side, then shook off the water on my scales. Thankfully, i wasn't anywhere near the others, who were all now in a circle, all gathered around and looking at each other. Sunny looked in my direction, waving at me, which i returned.

As they did their business, conversing with each other about many things, such as how they were glad they were safe, while some talked with Kestrel about not being glad to see her, and then arguing about what was best for them, i decided to think.

I had made it this far. I had escaped Scarlet and her plan to turn me into a display for her ally, Burn. But now i faced a new problem: I had to convince the dragonets to let me go with them. As i thought, i came up with a way, and it worked so well it might just work.

I was shaken out of my thoughts as i heard the conversation. Kestrel was going to leave the dragonets, and was asking Peril to go with her, but Peril was uncertain. I was reminded of what had happened to me, and quickly spoke up before Peril could answer.

"Peril, think carefully on this." I said, which had everyone looking towards me. "You never know what's going to happen with the future, due to how it is always uncertain. You said that you haven't seen your mother since you first hatched, and didn't even know she was alive till two days ago. With this world as is, with its war going on, you never know what might happen. Think carefully on you decision."

Peril looked uncertain, but nodded her head slightly. "Alright...I will go with you Kestrel. But only until i make sure you get out of this kingdom safely. After that, i have to return here, to make sure everything is alright, and check if Scarlet is still alive."

With this response, Kestrel looked shocked for a moment, with Sunny and Clay smiling at me, and Tsunami and Glory looking at me with a sense of respect. Kestrel righted herself, before speaking. "Alright then, let's go. But remember, dragonets, be careful who you trust. That one," she said, pointing at me, "I'm still not fully sure about." And with that, she flew out of the cave.

I looked towards Peril, who was hugging Clay. Once she was finished, she smiled at me, we said goodbye to each other, with her last words to me being "Thank you." and Peril was gone, leaving me in the waterfall cave with the dragonets.

"So…" I said, in which all of the dragonets looked towards me. I felt like this was the moment, the one that would decide whether or not i traveled with the dragonets. "What's your plan?" I asked.

"We're going to go find out where we all came from." Sunny replied, smiling at me excitedly, meanwhile Tsunami yelled at her for revealing their plan to me without even discussing whether or not they were going to trust me.

"Look." I said, getting their attention once more. "I know you might not trust me yet, but i want to go with you. I don't know what kind of dragon i am, or how i got here, and i want to find out. If you are traveling all across Pyrrhia, then i might just be able to find the answers I'm looking for out there. And with this place being at war and everything, i don't exactly want to go by myself. So please, let me travel with you."

When i finished saying this, I looked up at the dragonets. Sunny was nodding at me, easily agreeing to let me go along. After a second, Clay nodded in agreement as well, with Glory joining him. Finally, with all of them looking towards Tsunami, she rolled her eyes and nodded as well in agreement, making me smile.

Maybe everything would be okay after all.

 _Meanwhile, in another world, in another place…._

"I'm sorry, but there have been no clues to your brother's disappearance. Are you sure you will be alright here by yourself until your guardians return?" The police officer standing in my doorway asked. I nodded my head, in which he said goodbye, heading towards his car while i closed the door.

It had been two days since i had gotten home and noticed my brother missing. After trying to call him, and getting no answer, i figured he was just busy with his friends. But after contacting them, none of which knowing his whereabouts, i panicked, and thus called the police.

Jack had gone missing, and the police could find no clues as to what happened to him. As i sat on the couch, a sudden thought crossed my mind, and i went and got my jacket and shoes, heading out.

If the police weren't going to find my brother, then i would.

I walked all the way to the school that we both attended, then started following his normal walk back to the house, the last place i had heard him. If there were any clues what happened to him, i would have to be on the lookout.

When i reached a corner, i had a strange feeling cross me, then looked to my left. I looked at the forest that stood there, realizing that Jack sometimes used it as a shortcut to get home quickly. I took a deep breath, then walked in.

I followed a beat up path for a while, before getting an uneasy feeling, as if i was being watched. I pushed it aside, keeping my head focused on finding my brother. However, as time went on, the feeling got worse and worse, until next thing i knew, i was running for my life.

AS i ran, i felt myself trip on something, and as i felt weightlessness, i realized i was falling, and could only question what would happen next.

When i awoke, i felt sore, though as i looked over myself, i saw i was in a strange cave. I got out my phone, about to call for help, but cursed, realizing there was no signal. AS i looked around though, i saw a faint glow coming out of a tunnel, and since there was no other way out other then up, i decided to follow it.

Maybe if i followed this path, i would find my brother. It was a slim hope, but i held onto it, and moved forward. AS the glow continued to get brighter, i found myself in a strange cave, and in the center of it, a strange, glowing stone.

For some reason, i had the sudden urge to reach out my fingers...and touch it…

 **Bum Bum BUM! So anyways, massive cliffhanger that i'm going to have at the end of each form of book, as my form of epilogue. Btw, i am going to have the mud kingdom part, but since i can't fit that into a whole chapter, i'm just going to mash it with the first part of book 2. Anyways, i hope you guys enjoy this chapter that i wrote half of today, cause i've been slacking because i've been playing too much Ark and Overwatch. But once again, thank you all, and shoutouts to Divine the Withered Soul who gave me the motivation to write this chapter in time and Kiara Walker (pen named fan), who is a great inspiration with the best comments EVER! Seriously, your insanity reminded me of Fatespeaker, who i can just appreciate cause insane are THE BEST PEOPLE! Anyways, thank you all for reading, and see you in the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After we had agreed to all go together for the time being, the dragonets and i had to first get away from the Skywing kingdom and head towards our first destination, the Mudwing kingdom. However, with all of the guards flying around looking for us, we couldn't fly (even though i couldn't do that at this moment anyway).

We decided the best course of action was to try to sneak away using the cover of the river connected to the waterfall we were hiding behind. Sunny would ride atop of Clay covered in mud on the side of the river, meanwhile Tsunami would swim in the river.

Due to how that left me with no way of blending in, i would have to stick near the river on the grass, while meanwhile Glory would lay on top of me so she could camouflage the both of us.

When this idea was suggested by Sunny, both Glory and I made faces, not exactly happy with the idea. I didn't know her reasoning other than i'm a dragon that they were just starting to trust, but i had two main reasons for not wanting to be too close to her.

First of all, i had seen what Glory could do with her venom, and the consequences it brought. Twice. Both times, i was absolutely terrified, and was almost certain i would be next. Sure, in the time that we had known each other (that of which being about two hours), she had seemed nice and agreed with my actions, but i still didn't know too much about this dragon yet.

Secondly, i didn't exactly being in close proximities with other people, especially to the point where they are touching you. I always thought it felt awkward and didn't exactly like the strange feeling you got when other people touched you, whether on purpose or not.

But either way, we both agreed with Sunny in the end, the two of us knowing it was going to be the most probable way of getting all of us out of the current predicament alive. So as they started to cover Sunny with mud, i took a deep breath, let out a sigh, and walked over to Glory, who was standing near the cave opening.

"So…. how exactly is this going to work? I haven't exactly had to do this before." I asked Glory as she turned to face me. She looked at me uncertainly before replying.

"Well, if you watch Sunny as she climbs on top of Clay, you'll see how it works." She said, pointing out the two. I watched as Clay bent down, in which he then laid out both wings flat, one of which slid to the floor, looking like a ramp. Sunny then grabbed his shoulder, then lifted herself up so that she was lying on top of clay flatly. Due to how she was covered in mud, which she wasn't very happy about, she nearly camouflaged along with Clay.

I looked towards Glory, sighed again, then crouched down and flattened my wings so she could climb aboard. She looked uncertain for a moment longed, a slight purple rolling in alongside her wings, before she stepped up to me and started to climb.

After a few moments of getting settled and positioning herself on top of me, Glory was fully seated. To me, I felt extremely awkward about having to be this close to another person, but I shrugged it off and took a few testing steps, seeing if I could still walk like this.

After walking around for a minute, I realized I would be fine. To me, Glory just felt like a heavy backpack. Due to this, I wondered if dragons were just light or if maybe I was just stronger as a dragon. I wouldn't say I was the strongest back home, but I still wasn't the weakest person.

After making sure everyone knew what we were doing, we lined up at the entrance of the cave and prepared to set off. The plan was to keep moving along the river until we reached the forest, then rest there for the night. We would then keep making our way to the Mudwing Kingdom from there.

We ran out of the entrance, Glory camouflaging to look like the grass to hide us, Clay and Sunny sticking to the mud bank, and Tsunami swimming through the river. We had officially escaped the Skywing Kingdom, and began our adventure towards the Mudwing Kingdom and beyond.

For a while, it was quiet, both Glory and I being silent as I continued to run along the grass. Eventually though, Glory broke the silence. "So why exactly did you want to come with us?" She asked.

I looked up suddenly, snapped out of my thoughts from her question. "I briefly explained back in the cave how I wanted to learn the answers of who I am and why I am here, along with how I got here. I figured that if you are going to be traveling across the continent in search of answers, I might be able to find some as well."

"Alright then." She said, going quiet for a few more minutes. "I can feel how tense you are." She said suddenly, nearly making me trip before I corrected myself. "I've seen the brief glances you've given me. Why are you afraid of me?"

I gulped, wanting to laugh nervously before answering, though couldn't because I was focused on running. "I'm going to be honest here. When I first saw you, I saw the most beautiful mass of colors in my life. But then I saw what you did to Fjord. That moment will scar me for life."

She had gone silent as I went on. "I am afraid of what you can do Glory, but I don't hold that against you. I had seen where things were going, and if you didn't do anything then Clay would be dead, and then with Scarlet, we could still be trapped in her prison or worse."

"Do you think my friends think that way about what I've done?" She asked me. I continued running for a minute before answering.

"I can't speak for them, but if I had to guess, then no matter what happens, no matter what any of you do, you will still all need each other, and still be friends." I replied.

"But why should they care? I'm not even part of the prophecy." She said. "I'm here as a replacement for a dead egg that never hatched. Why should I be here, saving the world with them?" She asked.

"Because they need you more than you realize." I said. "If they didn't want you with them, it would be obvious. They are your friends, and they'll not only want you with them for the challenges ahead, but they'll need you."

"As for the prophecy, how do you know you're not in it. Prophecies are vague, and are interpreted in different ways. You are only not part of the prophecy if you don't believe you are."

Glory went silent after i said that, and i was silently glad she did, deciding it was time to go back into my thoughts. I was once more thinking about everything that had happened, and that was going to happen. How was i going to make it home, if i ever found a way?

I sighed, knowing that those thoughts would only worsen my situation. Instead, i decided to think about my sister. I wondered how she was doing at that moment, and wondered if i had caused her worry at my disappearance. I could only hope she was safe, at least.

Like i've thought before, Sara would be better fit for what was going on right now then me. I was a pacifist, not wanting to fight if it meant the other harm. My sister was quite the opposite, knowing many forms of self defence and constantly wanting to get into fights. It wasn't for bad reasons, however, because she always fought for what she thought was right, defending others when necessary.

I was silently glad she wasn't here though, and it was me that had been sucked into this strange, violent world instead. At the very least, it gave me relief that my sister didn't have to face what i had to this point, and was glad she was safe in that regard.

I still wondered, what she was doing right now?

 _Meanwhile, in the mountains near the Skywing Kingdom…_

So, currently, i would have to say either I went insane, or some very weird things were going on right now. I had woken up after getting the shock of my life for touching some strange stone, and then when i found an exit that wasn't there before, i found myself a dragon!

I decided to keep calm, and examine the situation more thoughtfully, and decided to check the cave i had come from for any clues. However, as i looked behind me, i saw that the cave had disappeared.

Definitely a strange day.

Once more, even though i was starting to panic at this point, i calmed myself down and thought carefully. If i had to guess, i wasn't in my world anymore, due to the beautiful landscape and what appeared to be more dragons flying in the distance. I could also determine that Jack might be here as well, and this was the reason for his disappearance.

I thought it best to leave my current place by a river, hoping to try and find my brother nearby. I first decided to work on my wings though, deciding that flight might be a faster way of travel, and would help me in my search.

Of course, that first involved me learning how to move two wings that i had never had before. After an hour of struggling, i finally figured out the muscle control to move them in any way i wanted. Next was the tricky part.

After an hour of getting a few feet into the air, jumping off a ledge and crashing, and just plain old gliding, i finally did it! I wasn't too fast, barely able to get my wings to move at the correct moments to lift myself higher and higher up, before gliding along above the forest, searching below.

I was mildly distracted from my search for my brother by the fact that i was STINKING FLYING! I felt free, and wanted nothing more than to just fly up into the air, into what felt like pure freedom. I wondered if Jack had flown yet, and if so, had given into his urges and just flown away in some random direction.

As i was thinking this, i was interrupted from my search by a shout above me. "Static, is that you!?" I looked up to see an orange dragon with gold trimmings and blue eyes flying towards me, happiness on her face. As we looked towards each other, she recognized i wasn't someone else, and a look of disappointment and then confusion crossed her face.

"Sorry, my name's not Static." I said, quickly landing into a clearing below. I didn't want to talk and fly at the same time currently, afraid that i might crash into something by not paying attention. The dragon landed across from me, and i noticed with fright that the moss on the rock she landed on burned at her touch.

"Oh, sorry, i thought you were a friend of mine." she said sheepishly, before looking at me with confusion again. "But who are you? Static is the only dragon I know that looks like you do." She asked, cocking her head at me.

I thought for a second. If i gave my real name, that might lead to more questions, and i wasn't sure what to reveal at this point. Also, if there was a dragon that looked like me, he was either my brother or someone who might be able to give me answers. If their name was Static, i might want to use something similar, something related to the electricity breath that i had accidently used when i exited the cave, thinking it was a burb.

"My name is Spark." I replied. "Who are you? And who's this Static you mentioned? I think i might know him." I asked her, sitting myself onto the grass underneath myself.

"My name is Peril." she replied. "Static is my friend. He looks a lot like you, you know. Do you know what kind of dragon you are? Because when he showed up out of nowhere a few dys ago, he had no idea either."

What she had just said grabbed my attention, making me belief that this Static person was actually Jack. "No, i don't know what kind of dragon i am." I replied, looking down at my new talons before looking back up at her. "Do you think you can take me to Static? I need to talk with him." I asked Peril.

"Sorry, but i can't." Peril replied. "Not only do i not know where he is right now, but i have to get back to the Skywing Kingdom right now, which i advise you avoid, because a dragon named Burn there might want to kill you if she sees you." I blinked at her answer, not fully sure i understood the killing part.

"Oh, alright." I said, slightly saddened at the fact i had no clues as to the location of my brother. "Do you at least have an idea as to where he might be?" I asked Peril, wanting at least a small idea of where to go to find Jack.

Peril appeared to be thinking for a moment, before answering. "If i overheard correctly, i think he was heading to the Mudwing Kingdom currently, and then after that he would be in the Seawing Kingdom, so that might be the best place to look for him." Peril replied.

"Which way is the Seawing Kingdom from here then?" I asked her. Peril thought for a second, examining the area around her, before pointing in a certain direction.

"I believe that the Kingdom of the Sea is in that direction, if the few maps i've been able to look at from a distance are right. If you keep flying in that direction, you should be able to get to the islands that is the territory of the Seawings. No one knows exactly where their Kingdom exactly is, but if you fly around there, you might at least be able to find Static. Speaking of which, how do you know him? Why is it you want to find him?"

I started to prepare my wings to fly again, before looking at Peril. "If he's who I think he is, then he is someone close to me." As i said that, i flew off, shouting thank you at Peril as I flew off in the direction she pointed.

I think i heard her shout "You're welcome", and i grinned. I was close to finding my brother, i could just feel it! As I flew off, i could only hope that Static really was Jack, and i wondered how he was doing, and what he was doing at this very moment.

Whatever he was doing, I could only hope he was safe, in which i flapped my wings faster to try to cover more distance quicker.

"Hold on Jack," I muttered under my breath, "I'm coming."

After a while longer of running, we finally took a break under some trees, finding a small cave we could all fit in, and decided to camp out for the night. Clay managed to catch a boar, which after cooking, i finally was able to eat, also having some wild carrots that Sunny dug up that she was enthusiastic about sharing with.

As we ate, i looked around, seeing the dragonets smiling faces as they ate, talking to each other happily. I could only grin, feeling like i was standing in front of a large happy family. It reminded me of my family, my parents at opposite ends of the table, with Sara and I on opposite sides of each other as we talked and ate diner.

After eating and reminiscing on the past, we all crawled into the cave. As i layed down on the opposite side, I watched with amusement as the dragonets all climbed over each other as they did the same. After a few minutes, they were all laying down to sleep, all grouped up in a large pile. After watching them for a bit, smiling, i decided to sleep.

When i awoke the next morning, I was surprised to find that i hadn't been visited by Fathom that night, but shrugged it off. I had been following what he had told me to do, so i guess there was nothing urgent he needed to tell me currently.

However, as i looked around, i realized that there seemed to be a problem: Glory was gone. I looked around outside quickly, trying to see if she was nearby, but when she was nowhere to be seen, i quickly awoke the others.

They panicked for a moment, of course, wondering where she went, before talking amidst themselves. "Maybe she left," Tsunami offered. "She never did feel like she was part of the prophecy, especially after what you said yesterday." Tsunami said, pointing at Clay.

"Me? What did I do?" Clay asked, looking confused, worried and surprised all at the same time.

Tsunami then explained how he had offered to let Peril be the dragonet in the prophecy, and replace Glory. Clay objected, saying he was just trying to offer ideas, and didn't want Glory to leave. I broke in, mentioning a bit of my conversation with Glory yesterday, in which Clay started to be extremely worried, not wanting Glory to have left, and decided we should go after her.

After he had suggested that, Glory appeared out of nowhere, making me yelp in surprise. "Thank you Clay." Glory said as she nudged him with her wing. She explained how she was thinking about leaving, but decided to just stay invisible in the morning and see how the dragonets reacted.

Clay and Sunny were a bit upset, but we all decided it was time to keep moving again. After leaving the cave and eating a bit more, we all went to keep moving towards the Mudwing Kingdom. After going through the routine once more, with Glory on my back again, we headed off.

For a while, once more, it was silent between the two of us. As i kept running, i started to wonder just how far away the Mudwing Kingdom was, and just how long we were going to have to travel like this. As i once again got lost in my thoughts, Glory broke the silence once more. "So Static, if you're not from around here, where are you from?" she asked.

I nearly tripped at the question, but caught my misstep and kept moving. I remembered what Fathom had told me, and that Sunny was supposedly the only one I could tell about my origins. However, so far, even though I was scared of Glory, i still felt like I could trust her, so even if I couldn't give her the whole truth, i would offer some.

"Well… I don't remember much." I said. I figured mild amnesia would be the best way to handle this. If I had a reason to not know where I came from, then maybe I would be able to get away with not having to answer too many questions. "But from what I do remember, I lived on a fairly large continent. There was a large population, and for the most part, we got along, though there were still many that would commit crimes. It was a simple life in a simple place, i guess."

"Hmm, sounds interesting. What about the dragons? Do they all look like you? Or are there different varieties, like here in Pyrrhia?" Glory asked me. I thought carefully for a moment, before deciding.

"I honestly can't remember." I lied. "I don't even know what kind of dragon I am, and i can't remember much from before I woke up here. Sorry." I said as I kept moving, running in between the trees as they appeared.

"That's fine. By the sounds of it, if i remember the scrolls right, you have amnesia. That would explain why you remember so little, at least." She said, in which i was thankful that she believed me. I didn't like having to lie, but i didn't need these dragons thinking im crazy, or worst.

"Yeah, that's what i think so as well. That's why I'm hoping to find some answers by traveling with the four of you. If anything, if I could at least get home, maybe i would find more answers there, at the very least." I said. I was speaking the truth in this regard, at the very least.

"Yeah. Who knows, maybe when we find Starflight, he might be able to give you some answers. He definitely studied the scrolls more than the rest of us, so if there is anything any of us might know about you or where you came from, it'll be Starflight." Glory said.

"I can only hope that you're right." I said, and with that, we were silent once more. We kept moving, traveling about half of the day towards our first destination.

After a few hours, we reached a clearing with few to little trees around us. After a few minutes, the ground underneath me changed to dirt with no grass growing. Ii then saw that we were approaching the edge of a cliff, and spread out my wings, ready to glide.

As i jumped off, so did Glory, spreading her wings and launching off of me into the open air. We appeared to be above a cliff, and as I looked down, i saw an extremely gruesome sight. It appeared to be a battlefield, in which a large battle had just occurred, and i could only stare on in silent horror as the dragonets grouped around me, all staring as well.

As we hovered, i saw just how badly the battle was. There appeared to be hundreds of corpses, with many Mudwings and Icewings and even a few Sandwings. There were bodies burning and bodies frozen in ice. Death was everywhere, and it was as gruesome as ever.

As we circled around, Tsunami spoke up. "I wonder who won." She said, looking around at the dead bodies spanning the field below.

"No one won." Sunny said, looking as well. "No one can just look at this battle and say "Yay, we won." This is exactly why we need to stop the war." We all just nodded, flying towards a cave in the cliff, deciding it would be better to stay hidden rather than be spotted by soldiers.

"Back where I'm from, there was a saying I heard." I mentioned as we landed. ""War never changes." To this day, especially after seeing that bloodbath down there," I said, pointing with a wing outside, "That is the truest statement I have ever heard. War is just fighting over other's opinions, meanwhile everyone loses something in the process."

The dragonets nodded solemnly. I could understand why, at least. This was probably their first time seeing what war was doing to their home, and i could only feel sadness for them at what they faced.

"On the bright side," I said, trying to cheer them up. "I'm almost certain I saw a bunch of Mudwings in the distance, so we are more than likely in the Mudwing Kingdom." It was true. For a moment, before I saw the gruesome battle below, I had spotted huts and groups of Mudwings in the distance, and i was going to shout to the others, but then we looked down.

"Well, that's true. I don't think we are in the actually kingdom, just the outskirts, but if what Kestrel said is true, then this is where we need to be." Glory said, staring outside the cave, a bit of purple appearing alongside her wings before disappearing.

"So if this is where I'm from, then my family might be down there." Clay said, looking outside the cave as well. I agreed, having overheard the dragonets plan to find their families while exploring the world.

We decided to talk for a bit, planning out what to do next. We eventually came to the conclusion of letting Clay go explore, but he would have Glory go with him, disguising herself as a Mudwing. After saying how they planned to be back soon, and to keep an eye out if anything were to happen, the two left, leaving Tsunami, Sunny and I alone in the cave.

After deciding for a moment, we decided for me to be on watch, due to how i appeared to have the best eyesight. I didn't understand why; I had only normal eyesight back home, but then again, i guess i could always just blame the strange rock and shrug it off.

After a few minutes of silence, Tsunami grew bored and decided to try talking to me. "So, Static, why are you trying to help us so much? I understand you're searching for answers and everything, but why help us while you're at it?"

I sighed. I was starting to grow annoyed with Tsunami's paranoia, but knew that she was just trying to keep her and her friends safe. "Well, why not?" I said. "If i'm going to be here, i might as well help, rather than get in the way or do nothing. I refuse to just stand aside why dragons are dying, and I figured the best way to stop that is to stop the war, which is what the prophecy says you five are going to do. If I can help, i will, because it's the right thing to do."

I could tell that my answer was the right one, because she soon went back into her own thinking instead of yelling at me, and i continued to stare into the distance. A few minutes of doing that, Sunny walked up and sat beside me.

"Don't worry about Tsunami, Jack." She said softly, hoping that Tsunami wouldn't hear. "She's just trying to be protective of the rest of us, that's all." Sunny then proceeded to nudge me reassuringly with a wing, in which i grinned at her.

"I already guessed as much. If anything, i agree with her. If i was a part of a group of dragonets who were destined to save the world, had been taken prisoner, forced to fight, escape, and then one of the other prisoners wanted to come with, I'd be paranoid about them too." I thought for a second, before adding, "Actually, I think I would be more paranoid then she is right now." I said jokingly.

Sunny giggled, causing me to smile. As i looked back out, knowing i should keep watch, i saw four dragons flying towards us, two brown coming from the Mudwing village in the distance, and two black, coming out of the clouds and flying towards us.

I told Sunny and Tsunami, who both got up and looked to where i was pointing. Tsunami growled, while Sunny looked worried. After a couple of minutes, Glory and Clay arrived.

Clay looked happy and sad at the same time when he arrived, and explained how his mother had sold him for two cows, but on the bright side, he had brothers and sisters who would wait for him while he stopped the war. Once he was done explaining, i quickly pointed out how the two dragons, more than likely Nightwings, were headed this way.

That got their attention quickly, and we all looked outside. As we looked, i noticed how one who appeared bigger had stopped, and the other one who was smaller kept flying towards us. I recognized them both. The large one was Morrowseer, the deliverer of the prophecy who had only rescued Starflight from the arena.

The other was Starflight, who had returned, with a more than delighted face at returning to his friends. Once more, all of the dragonets were together, and i could only pray that with them all together once more, they really would be able to stop this war.

 **Author's note: Huh. I honestly wasn't expecting the Mudwing Kingdom to take a whole chapter. Whelp, guess this is what i get for assuming. Anyways, thank you all for reading this story so far, and for all of your support. Anyways, I must say that I'm always looking for more ideas and art and such.. However, I do need ideas for the second book chapters, because it's freaken underwater and i can't have my land breathing character go down there, so i need other ideas for those chapters. So if you have any ideas, please tell me! I love your guy's (and maybe gals) ideas! So comment ideas, share this story to your friends if you want (or just get them to read Wings of Fire in general, cause it's the best series ever!), and thank you all for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As Starflight approached, i stared up at Morrowseer. I could feel his gaze looking down upon us, his eyes specifically locked onto myself. I could only wonder what was going on through his head, wondering why the dragonets were traveling with one of the arena prisoners.

I was currently thinking about how potentially dangerous he could be. He had already abandoned the dragonets once, only saving Starflight and leaving the others to an uncertain fate. If a situation like the arena was to ever occur again, i could only presume that Morrowseer would more than likely refuse to interfere, and instead watch the dragonets suffer.

As Starflight landed, in which he was swarmed by the other dragonets, Morrowseer turned around and began to fly away. I watched him until he was just a spot in the sky, barely noticeable in the afternoon sky.

I turned towards the dragonets, all reunited once more. Overall, they all looked happy, more than likely glad that they were able to find all of each other once more. I could only smile myself, glad that they had each other, but once more feeling the sadness in my heart of being alone. Starflight then looked my way, a look of surprise crossing his face.

"Oh! Um, why's the potentially dangerous, potentially helpful mystery dragon here?" he asked, looking towards the others. I didn't exactly know how to feel about that, but then again, Starflight had only seen me fight in the arena, but i had shown my helpfulness to him while we were both in the arena.

"Don't worry about Static, Starflight. He's actually here to help us while he searches for answers." Sunny explained. I smiled at them, but Starflight had an uncertain look on his face. However, when he looked at Sunny's hopeful/happy expression, he sighed and smiled sheepishly at her.

"Well…. as long as he's helping us. If we are to fulfill the prophecy, we're going to need all of the help we can get." He then turned towards me, a curious look crossing his face. "I am wondering about a few things about you though. In all of the scrolls i've read, there has never been mention of another dragon species? Are you a hybrid? How do you breath lightning? Are you from another continent? Do those large wings allow you to fly as fast as a Skywing? Are there any other special powers you have?"

I had to take a step back, uncertain how to reply to the massive barrage of questions. I quickly raised up my hands, trying to get him to stop. "Woah, please slow down. Look, now that you're here, i actually was planning on telling you everything i know. Maybe you'll be able to explain some of it."

That got him to stop, in which he looked at me excitingly. I could only guess that he was all about learning new things, and also teaching them, just from how excited he looked. I decided i did want to see if he had any answers though. I wouldn't explain everything, such as how i'm actually a human and also my visits from Fathom, but i did want to see if he had any answers to the stone and my origins.

So over the course of about an hour, the dragonets sat around me as i told most of my story of how i arrived in this strange land. They all listened, and Sunny even pretended to look like this was her first time hearing it. I explained how i had woken up in the strange cave, after touching the even stranger stone, and how i was surprised of my appearance, and how when the guards had arrived, the cave had disappeared.

When i finished, i had many looks of heavy thinking, concern and confusion. As Starflight thought on what i had told them, Clay looked confused, Glory was also thinking, Sunny looked concerned, and Tsunami appeared to be thinking about something as well, but was looking at me as if she was still trying to figure me out.

After a bit, Starflight shook his head. ""I'm sorry, but I honestly don't know anything about how you got here." Starflight said. "I do have a few theories, but I honestly have never even heard of a stone like the one you described, let alone caves that disappear for no reason."

"As to why you have no recollection of before you touched the stone, i can only presume that the stone might have affected your memories, giving you amnesia. As to the stone's origins, my only guess would be animus magic, which could possibly also explain the cave disappearing."

I looked at him, confused, but hopeful for at least some form of explanation. "What's animus magic?" I asked Starflight. Once more, he looked happy to be able to explain something, and quickly went into explaining.

"Animus magic is a very ancient, powerful and very rare magic. It is a form of magic that can be used by a dragon that is born with its power. It could be used by the dragon to enchant different objects to have a certain magic aspect, depending on what the dragon wanted it to do. However, this magic came at the price of the dragon's soul, and the more magic that was used, the more of the dragon's soul would be lost, and they would eventually go crazy."

"So what you're saying is that an animus dragon could be the reason I'm here?" I asked Starflight. He nodded, but then continued to talk.

"Possibly, but it is only a theory. For one thing, animus dragons haven't appeared for a very long time, and it is even believed that they don't even exist anymore. However, even after the enchanter dies, the object keeps its power, so there is a possibility that you ran across an old animus object, though i don't know what it's purpose could be."

I nodded. "Well, thank you for that information, at least. On the bright side, even if i don't know why im here, at least i might now have a reason for _how_ i got here." I looked outside, seeing that the sun was beginning to approach. "By the looks of it, it's going to be night soon. We should probably just make camp here for the night."

I turned to look at the dragonets. "Do we have a plan on where we are going to go from here? From the sounds of it, we have no reason to stay here, so where are we going to go next?"

The others looked towards each other, before coming to a conclusion. "Well, since the Kingdom of the Sea is the closest from here, we're going to go there and find Tsunami's parents, along with trying to meet Blister." Starflight explained.

"Woah, woah, wait a minute." I said. "I can understand the wanting to find your parents part, but i was just almost killed by one of the three of those sisters. Why do we exactly want to meet another one?" I asked.

"Well, we should at least try to meet the three possibilities, though I've heard, um, good things about Blister." I wasn't sure about it, but at the mention of liking Blister, Starflight seemed to stop for a second, which made me suspicious. What did he know about her? Was he hiding something? "Besides, we should be safe in the Seawing Kingdom, once they find out that Tsunami is the only living heir to the throne."

I nodded for a second, before my eyes went wide, quickly turning towards Tsunami in shock. "Wait, you're a _princess?_ " I asked her. She grinned like a shark at me, probably glad that she managed to surprise me with her origins. I turned to Sunny, whispering loudly to her so that everyone could hear. "Are we sure about that. I mean, she sure doesn't act like one."

Sunny tried to hide her giggle, while the others were chuckling as well while Tsunami glared at me. "Alright, first thing i'm doing when i'm Queen is making sure that you get thrown in prison." Tsunami said to me.

I pretended to look shocked at what she said. "What? Why would you ever want to throw dear oh innocent me into jail. I mean, I would never hurt a fly, let alone do anything to _your highness._ " I made sure to put extra sarcasm into the "your highness" part.

Sunny couldn't hide her giggles now, and the others were trying to suppress their laughter as well. "That's it!" Tsunami yelled, before launching herself at me. I anticipated this, quickly stepping to the side, and watching as she tumbled past me.

I walked over to her, where she lied on her back, glaring up at me. "Oh, my highness, it would appear that you've taken a slight fall. Would you like my assistance in having you get up?" I asked, giving her my hand to take.

Tsunami suddenly grinned, before grabbing my hand and pulling me down. Before i could react, she rolled me over and pinned me down. "There. And now that i'm on top, I want you to apologize before I let you up. If you don't, i could just sleep here until you do." Tsunami said, pretending to get comfortable.

"Oh? And how do i know that you don't just want to be close to me?" I asked, which made her head shoot up, looking at me with wide eyes. "I mean, for all i know, you could have a crush on me, ever since you laid your eyes on me. So i guess i'll just stay here, letting you fulfill your wish."

Until that moment, i didn't even think dragons could blush, due to their scales. However, Tsunami definitely was blushing a little bit, though she was still glaring down at me. "Alright, you win this one, for now." She said, getting off. "But don't think i'll forgive you for this!"

As the others finished laughing, we all decided it was time to sleep, in which the next morning we would head towards the Kingdom of the Sea. As i drifted off to sleep, i felt the strange darkness overcoming me, and before i lost consciousness, i knew i would be seeing Fathom tonight.

 _As i opened my eyes, i was once more in the clearing, with Fathom standing in front of me once more. "_ Ah, it is good to see you once more, Jack." _Fathom said. "_ Once more, i have to tell you some things, but with everything i have to tell you, you might not be able to ask questions for me before you wake up. Are you alright with this?" He asked me.

 _I nodded, knowing that if he had something important, i should hear about that first._ "Good. First of all, when you get to the Kingdom of the Sea, make sure that the Seawing that meets you doesn't die. If you accidently kill him, it could have a negative impact on the future."

"Alright, but you should know me enough by now that i have no plans of killing anyone anytime soon, at least not on purpose."

 _Fathom nodded._ "I know, I just find it imperative that he should survive. Secondly, do not form any loving relationships with the dragonets, at least not until this business is settled. There are dragons they have yet to meet that they will find to love, and if they come to love you, then there is not only the problem of messing with the timelines, but also with their chances of survival. If they come to love you, they might put their lives before yours, and get themselves killed."

 _I nodded, though i was mildly blushing._ "I know. Besides, if one of them fell in love with me, it wouldn't be fair to them when i go back to my world eventually. I wouldn't want to break their hearts that way."

 _Fathom nodded once more, before continuing to talk._ "Be sure to remember that. I've been told there are still many futures where you could end up forming a relationship with one dragonet especially, though if i told you which, that too could alter the future negatively. Now, enough of this conversation."

 _I nodded, glad th_ at _conversation was over. I was, however, curious. Which dragonet, out of Tsunami, Glory, and Sunny could possibly love me in the future? I ruled out Clay and Starflight, due to how they are male and i don't roll that way, but still, it got me wondering which of the other three it could be. However, that was only in some futures, according to Fathom, so maybe i had nothing to worry about._

"Alright, the final thing i have to tell you is to be careful in the Kingdom of the Sea, and to especially keep an eye on Tsunami. There will be a lot of close calls, especially for her, so keep her and the others safe as much as you can, even though many of her dangers lay underwater, where you cannot follow."

 _The ground began to shake, signalling that my time here was already finished._ "That is all for now. When you are done in the Seawing Kingdom, I will contact you once more." _I nodded, and with that, Fathom began to walk away as the place was shrouded in darkness once more…_

I woke up to something nudging me in the side. I was still half asleep, trying to ignore it. After a minute, the poking continued, in which i tried gently swatting at it to get it to go away. "Sara, no, go away, it's too early…" I mumbled.

The poking stopped, before i heard a voice say, "Who's Sara?" I quickly opened my eyes, remembering where i was. I looked around, seeing Sunny standing next to me, while the others stood by the cave entrance, preparing to go. I looked at Sunny, who gave me a curious look.

"I'll… i'll tell you later, when the others aren't around." I told her. She nodded as i got up, and the two of us went towards the others.

"Well, finally he got up." Tsunami said. "C'mon, let's go already! I'm sure that if we leave now, we can get to the sea by tonight!" Tsunami was basically jumping up and down in excitement right now, most likely due to the aspect of going home.

"Tsunami, that isn't true and you know it." Starflight said. "You looked at the maps involving the Sea Kingdom, and you should know that it'll take us at least three days to get from here to there, and even after that, we'll still have to find where their palace is, which none of the other dragon tribes have even managed yet."

"I know that, but if we get going now, it'll bring us that much closer to the sea, and i just want to see it so _badly_." Her wings were starting to move now, and she then jumped out of the cave and hovered outside of it. "Well? Come on! Let's go!"

Starflight sighed before going after her, with Glory, Clay, Sunny and I all going after them. After a few minutes of flying, i realized i wasn't just gliding, I was actually flying! It was such a different feeling, with the air open to me on all sides, and the wind blowing in my face. I flew faster, taking in even more of the feeling, and before i knew it, i had caught up to Tsunami with how fast i was going.

I slowed down, knowing i would have to save my energy, and we continued flying. We flew for several days, taking stops to either eat or to sleep. On the second day, Sunny flew up beside me, and because the others were spaced out and or ahead of us, i decided to tell her about my sister.

As i talked to her, explaining why i needed to get back, and how Sara was my main reason for doing so, Sunny looked saddened. "Well, i hope that you can get back, eventually. By the sounds of it, she is most likely worried deeply about you. I'm sure she's waiting for you as well. So Jack," Sunny said to me, turning her head to look at me, "I'll be sure that once the prophecy is fulfilled, I will help you get back to your sister."

I smiled at her, glad that she was willing to help, but as i looked into her eyes, i saw mild sadness, and as she turned away to continue focusing on her flying, i could only wonder why she might be sad. Maybe it was at the aspect of me leaving, but then again, i had only met her about a week ago, so i was kept wondering as we kept flying.

As we continued to fly, i thought about just how long i had been gone and been in this world. It had been about a week and a half, and i could only be left thinking. What was happening to Sara right now? Most likely, she would think i was in trouble, and i could only hope she hadn't gone looking for me. Knowing her though, she probably had, but i doubted that she would ever find the hole i fell into.

However, that lead me into another line of thinking. What if she did find the hole? What if she decided to go down it to look for me, and ended up in this world like i had. I shook my head, only hoping that that would never happen. If Sara ended up in this world, i wasn't sure what would happen.

I focused on my flying, occasionally talking to the other dragonets, and in the next few days, we found ourselves on a beach that was facing the ocean. Tsunami was standing at the edge, looking out at the sea, while Starflight was panicking about staying hidden in the treeline. The rest of us were just lounging about, glad that we were able to take a break from flying. Sure, it's enjoyable, but after a few days, it gets tiring.

I looked at Starflight, who was complaining to Tsunami about being this far out in the open. Lately, he had been very paranoid, wanting us to stay hidden almost all of the time. I could mildly understand, due to how they were prisoners not too long ago, but for some reason, it felt like he was being almost _too_ paranoid. Maybe it was just my imagination, but i still felt like something was off.

Anyways, after a bit, Sunny stuck her head up, alongside with Starflight, who told Tsunami to be quiet. I looked about as well, with Starflight smelling fire and Sunny hearing wingbeats. After looking about, my eyes locked onto movings shapes in the sky, a good distance from where we were, but making their way to our location.

"Skywing patrol headed this way!" I shouted to the others. They nodded, with Clay burying himself into the sand, Tsunami jumping into the water, Glory camouflaging to look like a rock, and after a minute, Starflight, Sunny and I heading towards the treeline. Starflight got there first, but Sunny was slower, so i quickly opened my wings and flew above her, grabbing her and flying quickly to the trees.

As we got into the trees, not a minute later did the Skywings pass over us. They continued flying towards the sea, and they were most likely a scouting patrol. There appeared to be five of them, but after a moment, a sixth one appeared, flying slower and was behind the rest of the group.

As he got over the ocean, he stopped moving, his head looking about. For a second, it looked like he was looking in our direction, and i stared straight at him, mildly muttering under my breath that he would just keep flying. As his mouth slowly opened up, a blue blur shot out of the ocean, and collided head on with the Skywing.

Not a moment after Tsunami had attacked the Skywing, i jumped out of the trees, heading straight for them, my wings beating quickly. Tsunami almost had dragged him into the water when i almost got there, but he had a sudden burst of strength, and blew a surge of fire at Tsunami.

I got there too late, and i saw the burn alongside Tsunami's neck, and as I got there, Clay did as well. He quickly moved between Tsunami and the Skywing, and when the fire came again, his scales prevented it from hurting anyone else.

As the Skywing looked on in confusion as to why his fire didn't work, i flew up and punched him straight in the face, with the force of my flying going alongside it. The Skywing looked dazed for a moment, before flying unconscious to the sea below. Clay quickly caught him, and we flew back to the beach.

When we got there, Clay laid the Skywing down, and as we landed, Tsunami was yelled at by Starflight, Glory and Sunny. As they questioned why she attacked him, in which she responded to how she had seen the dragon's mouth open, i decided to step in.

"Look, what's done is done. Besides, from where i was standing, i wasn't sure if he had seen us or not, but i definitely saw his mouth open as well. He could have been yawning just as much as he could have been yelling to his group, and to be honest, i would rather not have to fight Skywings, let alone get captured again. So, before we argue over right and wrong, we should at least deal with the Skywing and get out of here before his group comes back."

The others nodded, with some hesitation though, and we turned towards the Skywing. None of us wanted to kill him, and after thinking for a minute, we decided to trap him under a tree and block his view with seaweed. As Clay and Starflight went to get the fallen tree in the forest, Tsunami and i went to get seaweed.

"Hey, thanks for sticking out for me." Tsunami said as we gathered several strips of seaweed. I looked up at her, mildly surprised. So far, I hadn't thought that Tsunami even _could_ thank me for something, let alone ever would.

I smiled, and i saw that she had plenty of seaweed, and i looked down at the seaweed in my hands, getting an idea. "You're welcome. But don't thank me yet. I have an idea, so come here."

She looked hesitant for a second, before coming over to me. "Let me see that burn from the Skywing's fire." I said. She looked hesitant for a second, but the turned her neck towards me. Even though she had scales there, the burn was still noticeable, and i could only guess how much it hurt. I grabbed a strand of seaweed, laying it against the burn. Tsunami hissed slightly, but stood still as I continued to bandage up her burn.

When i was done, her burn was completely wrapped up and was unnoticeable. Tsunami looked at me while poking slightly at it. "Why'd you do that?" She asked me.

"Well, Clay told me how his wounds healed quickly by applying mud to it, and it got me thinking about how maybe seawater could possibly help your burn. Does it at least feel better than before?" I asked.

Tsunami rubbed the bandage for a second, thinking, before she replied. "It actually does feel a bit better." She then looked towards me. "Thanks again, i guess. We should probably head back to the others though." And with that, she turned around and we flew back to the other dragonets.

When we got there, we quickly applied the seaweed to the Skywing's eyes, keeping him from seeing anything. As we did, he started to wake up. He tried to get up, but couldn't due to the tree that Clay and Starflight had put on top of him. He tried begging us to not leave him there, but we agreed that his patrol would start looking for him, and decided to get moving again.

We had to go in the opposite direction for a bit though, in case he was listening to our wingbeats. I saw Tsunami looking towards the sea, and i knew she was probably saddened by the fact that she was so close and yet so far.

We flew for a few more days, once more getting to the ocean, and this time reaching our actual destination. The bay of a thousand scales was a large expanse of scattered islands, and somewhere hidden on one of them was the Seawing's Summer Palace, which was a Palace that allowed other dragons that couldn't breath underwater to visit.

We decided to make camp on one of the islands near the shore, and we all rested inside a tight cave after putting it to a vote on whether to sleep in there or on the beach.

At this point, i could definitely tell something was going on with Starflight. Almost every time Tsunami made a suggestion, Starflight shot it down, and due to her performance on the beach, the others went and agreed with Starflight. I wasn't sure what his goal was yet, so i could only watch and see what would happen.

After sleeping yet another night, i found myself awake before the others. As i looked around though, i soon noticed that Tsunami was missing. I could only hope she wasn't playing the same trick that Glory did, and i exited the cave, looking around for her.

After a minute of looking, i saw rapid movement in the water, and as I watched, i saw two blue shapes burst out of the water. One was Tsunami, and the other was a male Seawing. Tsunami quickly charged the dragon, and as i shouted at the others and flew over to help her, i remembered Fathom's words. No matter what happened, this dragon couldn't die.

As Tsunami appeared to be shouting at the dragon, who looked confused as to what was going on, his eyes went wide as he saw me, and he pushed Tsunami to the side and flew straight at me. I could tell he was ready for a fight, and i knew i had to defend myself.

Right before he got to me, I swung my tales around, splashing water into his face. This didn't distract him for long, but it was long enough to fly out of his path. He recovered quickly though, and i had no time to react as his powerful tail swung towards me.

His tail hit me square in the chest, knocking all the air out me, and sending me straight to the ocean. I barely recovered enough to stop myself from going into the ocean, but as i looked up, i saw the tail going in for a second swing, this one aimed straight for my face.

I tried to dodge it, but i was still slow from the first blow, and the last thing i saw before everything went dark was Clay coming towards me, and Tsunami shouting.

 _Meanwhile, across the continent, near the mountain ranges of Jade mountain, West of the Mud Kingdom…_

I had been flying for several days now, and I had seen no signs of an ocean anywhere. Either i still had a lot of flying to do, or Peril had given me bad directions, or maybe both. Either way, i couldn't give up yet, not until i at least found another dragon that could at least give me better directions.

As i sat down, preparing to head off again soon, due to how i had taken a break to sleep and find something to eat (hunting wasn't all that hard, due to how the animals weren't able to predict which way my lightning went, and that already cooked them enough to eat), I felt something.

I quickly looked up in a random direction. As i stared, i couldn't shake the feeling i had. For some reason, I felt like something terrible had just happened…

I decided it was time to get moving. If something bad was happening, i needed to find my brother quickly, before whatever was going on could harm him.

I just hoped i wasn't too late.

 **Hey there readers, welcome to another chapter and author's note. So once again, thanks for reading, and i have a few announcements. Due to a question asked, I will be adding oc's requested, as long as they are within reason (so basically any of the official dragon races or at least a well known oc race, so i can do research). It might be a bit till they are implemented, but i will try to add any oc's you have, just be sure to give a basic description on appearance and personality. Also, i am really surprised i got this chapter out in time, cause i was just in disneyland for a band trip, and my gosh, that was fun. But either way, 9 pages in a day isn't that hard, so it was still manageable. Also, be sure to give suggestions, such as anything you want to see in the story. I don't plan on shipping anyone, unless it's cannon like GloryBringer, and if you want to see something, just ask, and when we get far enough with the story, i'll put a vote up for all the readers to decide, so it's fair for everyone. So anyway, thank you for support, and as usual, thank you for reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 _I don't know where i am. All i see is darkness, everywhere i look. Everything is quiet. As I look around, trying to see something, anything, i finally lock eyes onto something. As i focus on it, I am reminded of the past…_

"But Mom, I don't want to go to karate!" I screamed out. I was hiding, after locking myself inside a closet that could only be opened from the inside. I was sniffling while seated on top of a large bin, trying to keep myself from going outside.

"Jack, we have discussed this several times, you need to go!" My mother said disdainfully from outside the door. "You know why I make you and your sister go to the classes, right? So that if in the future, should the need arise, you'll be able to defend yourselfs. You won't ever be able to do that if you are trapped in a closet, so come out here now."

I wanted to argue, but my younger mind knew she was right. I slowly unlocked and opened the door, and was ushered upstairs to grab my bag. When i did, i went back downstairs to find my sister and mother waiting for me, in which we went off.

We walked in silence, though my sister was excited as usual. "Hey Jack, I don't see why you hate karate so much." Sara said to me. "I mean, it's fun! You get to learn how to beat people up! Don't you want to do that?" She asked me.

I looked at her, sad and confused. "No. Why would I ever want to hurt another person? If i hate it when i get hurt, wouldn't it be mean to hurt others?" I asked her. "I know we are learning how to defend ourselves, but i still don't like the idea of hurting others."

Our mother stopped, kneeling down and looking at us. "Jack is right Sara. This is purely for learning how to defend yourselfs, not so you can hurt others. Self defence is purely so you can fight back if you are ever in trouble, and not for any other reason. Now come, we don't want to be late."

Sara huffed, while i grabbed her hand and kept us walking. That's how life went for a while, with me and Sara learning how to defend ourselves in the art of karate for five years together, from the ages of seven to twelve. After that though, i had eventually convinced my mother that i had learned enough to stop taking the classes, in which she agreed.

My sister, however, kept going, and even tried to get me to go back. She kept learning more, and even went to events due to it, a large smile on her face whenever she got to spar. And that is also what makes Sara and I so different: I was a pacifist, who would want nothing to do with violence, while Sara was also finding a strange thrill in the fight.

I have only ever had to use what i learned once at this point, and that was when i was in Scarlet's arena. I may not have been able to fight, but i always focused more on learning how to evade, which in this case aided me.

If Sara was to ever come here, i would find it surprising if she didn't get into at least one fight, let alone fighting any dragon that thought they could take her prisoner. However, i have no idea whether she would kill them or not, and i try not to think about that.

 _As I drifted out of the memory and my thinking, i realized that everything was still dark. However, right as i thought that, there was suddenly a light. I had no idea what it was, but i thought i could hear voices coming from it, even if they were muffled. Not knowing what else to do, i headed for the light._

 _When i got closer, the light began to fill up my vision, before encompassing me in a blinding light, in which i woke up._

I could hear voices around me, most of them sounding familiar. I tried to think about who was talking, but a sharp pain went through my head as i did so. I cringed, pushing the pain away. Everything was dark, but i realized that my eyes were just closed, so I strained to open them.

My eyes slowly opened, in which i saw what was going on around me. I was in a cave, with torches lining the walls. There was sand underneath me, and i could smell the ocean around me, so i figured we were still in the islands. As i looked around, i could see the other dragonets around me, with Sunny laying right next to me. As i looked, i could hear a lot of movement outside, and noticed that Tsunami was missing.

I tried moving myself, trying to get up, in which i got the dragonets attention, with most of them coming over to me, but Clay staying back for some reason. Starflight nudged Sunny, who looked over to me, and shot up and hugged me.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright!" She said, hugging me around my neck. I put my wing around her, returning the hug, before letting go and getting up. When i fully stood up, a wave of dizziness shot through my head, in which i reached up and felt something. I tried grabbing at it, but was swatted by Glory.

"You shouldn't mess with your bandage." She said. I nodded, still looking around, examining my surroundings in more detail. It looked like a simple cave, with nothing but smooth stone walls, torches, and sand. There was an exit, which was where most of the sound was coming from, with noises such as talking, wings flapping and a waterfall could be heard.

"What happened?" I asked, touching my head once more. "Where are we? How did we get here? And… are those chains on Clay?" I asked, seeing the glint of chains wrapped around Clay's legs, keeping him held down to the ground.

"A lot has happened since you went unconscious." Glory started to explain. "To oversimplify things, you were knocked out by a guard named Riptide, after Tsunami had accidentally miscommunicated with him. After explaining who we were, he agreed to help take you and the rest of us to the Seawing's Summer Palace."

Starflight continued after her, nervousness in his voice. "Along the way, we ran into an advance guard, led by an uncle of Tsunami's, named Shark. He originally had the plan to kill us, but Tsunami used her birthright to save us. After that, we were lead through tunnels to get here to the Summer Palace. Afterwards, we waited on a pavilion to meet with Queen Coral, Tsunami's mother."

Sunny stepped in next. "Queen Coral rushed in soon after, dragging behind her another daughter that Tsunami never knew about named Anemone. After that, Tsunami and her mother embraced, and then Queen Coral noticed us and nearly freaked out until Tsunami explained who we were, in which we were to be treated like guests and were lead here. However, the Seawings really don't like Clay, since he's a Mudwing, and locked him up here. Meanwhile, Tsunami is off somewhere else with her mother. That was about a day and a half ago."

"At one point, after Queen Coral got here, she ordered us food and a doctor for you, but all they have done is bring us leftovers and a dragon that just wrapped up your head." Clay finished. "We haven't exactly been treated like prisoners, but we aren't being treated like guests right now either."

I nodded, not exactly all that happy with how things were going. By the sounds of it though,Riptide was still fine, which means that Fathom shouldn't have to worry about that. However, i still had to focus on the matter at hand, and had to think of a way to at least get Clay out of his chains.

I walked over, slowly, to Clay, and studied his chains. They looked silver, and extremely strong. If i had to guess, it was more than likely the same material as the wires in the Skywing prison, due to the burn marks on them, signalling that they had already tried to burn through them. I sighed, turning to the other dragonets.

"Well, this is interesting, i have to say that. I guess the only thing we can do is wait for Tsunami to get back, and hopefully tell some guards to unchain Clay. But then again, at least we are safe, so we should be fine for a bit, as long as nothing happens."

Right as i said that, there was a sound of thunder outside, and the sound of fast falling rain could be heard. As i went towards the entrance, i noticed a grand downpour of rain, and also how the entrance of the cave was at a slight slope next to a small pond, which meant, thanks to the heavy rainfall that occurs with oceans, that this cave would flood if it rained too long.

Why did i open my mouth?

"Why did you have to say something like that?" Glory asked, looking at me blankly. Sunny looked outside the tunnel worryingly, while Starflight was looking at Clay's chains, trying to think of a possible solution.

"Yeah, i thought that myself. But we can't focus on that now, due to how we currently need to get out of here. Have you tried convincing any guards to let him go? You are the dragonets of destiny, after all." I asked.

Sunny shook her head, looking at me. " We tried that earlier, when they first locked him up. They wouldn't listen to us; they may believe in the prophecy, but they put their orders before us." She explained, looking saddened.

I stared at the rain outside for a moment, seeing that the water had already risen enough that a few trickles were entering the cave. I realized the situation we were in, thinking about possibilities, and how we could get Clay out of this mess.

I sighed, shaking my head, before looking up at the others. "We'll just have to stay here until Tsunami gets back." I explained. "She seems to be able to persuade the guards, if what you told me is correct."

"But what if she doesn't get here in time? Tsunami hasn't been here the whole time we've been in this cave. She keeps leaving before we can get her attention, and that's why we're still here." Sunny and Glory were both poking at Clay's chains now, trying to get them off.

I looked outside, seeing the rain pour down, noticing how even more water was starting to come into the cave. "If it comes down to it, we can go get a guard. If they don't listen, we can try force, but only as a last minute resort. We don't want to hurt your reputation here, but if it means that you won't drown, that would be prefered."

They nodded, though they still looked troubled. I understood, knowing that we had just escaped from one prison and were already facing new challenges. But I still knew that we had a lot more to get through, and as i walked over to try to help them get the chains off of Clay, i could only hope that Tsunami would get here before it was too late.

 _Meanwhile, on the edge of the Rainforest and Mud Kingdoms…_

"Alright, it's been days since I started flying, and I'm pretty sure this is a rainforest, not an ocean." I said outloud, staring at the tall trees standing before me. It had nearly been a week since i had gotten here, and there was still no sign of the Sea Kingdom that i was searching for.

I sighed, before setting up a rough camp. It had been a bit since I had rested, and it was nearing the evening now. I figured i could take a short rest to find something to eat before flying a little bit more for the day. Though when i say camp, i just mean i sweep away any rocks and sticks to give myself a place to sit down after i collect some berries or find a small animal to eat.

I still shivered at the fact that i was eating whole animals, but so far it seemed that my body was digesting it just fine. I didn't exactly know how dragon anatomy worked, after all. Still, it's unnerving, the fact that they are there one second, then gone the next. But then again, it was them or me, and they were just animals, after all.

So after finding some fruits on some bushes and trees nearby, sticking with what i recognized and staying away from anything i didn't know. I was lucky that there were some bananas though, along with a blackberry bush. I grabbed a large bundle of each, taking it to my camp, and then proceeded to eat.

As I ate, I got to thinking once again about the scenario i was in. With nothing but silence the whole time i've been flying, and only meeting another dragon on the one single occasion, I had a lot of time to think.

As usual, i thought about Jack, and wondered just what and how he was doing in this strange world. So far, I had been surviving just fine, but I wasn't sure that Jack would have the same survival instincts as myself. I had been more into this stuff than him, and it had been paying off for me. But then again, if he had survived the time before i got here, I would have to guess he was doing fine at the moment.

Another thing I got to thinking about was why i hadn't seen any other dragons so far. At this point, i was sure that i would have found at least one dragon that could fix my directions, but so far, there hadn't been anyone. I wondered where they all were, and if there was a specific reason as to why there wasn't anyone around.

Right as i got to thinking about that, after finishing up my meal, I heard some movement from behind a couple of bushes. As i got up, i watched, waiting to see what was about to appear.

As i watched, two large brown dragons wearing what looked like a form of armor came out of the bushes. They were talking to each other, and didn't notice me staring at them until they had cleared half the distance between them and me, in which one looked up and stopped the other, ending with both of them staring at me.

We stared at each other for what seemed like forever, though was probably more towards a minute at most. We were just staring at each other, as if trying to figure out what to do, what was happening, and who would make the first move. Finally, one of the dragons broke the silence. "Who are you, and what are you doing in Mudwing territory?"

I shrugged casually, before answering. "I'm just a traveler who is a bit lost. I wasn't meaning to intrude on anyone's territory, so I'm sorry about that. Can either of you point me towards the Sea Kingdom though? I'm afraid my directions were a bit incorrect."

The soldiers looked uncertain, as if they weren't sure how to handle the situation. However, one of them leaned towards the other, whispering in his ear. I didn't hear everything, but I thought I could make out words such as "rumor" and "strange dragon with dragonets of…". I couldn't be sure, but after he was done whispering, they both turned towards me, both serious once again.

"Alright, due to how you match the description of a dragon that Queen Burn wants to get her talons on, you're going to have to come with us. You can either do this in a way where nobody gets hurt, or you can do it our way." He said, getting into a battle position.

I sighed, getting into a position of my own. During my stops, i had been making sure that my new body didn't inhibit my ability to defend myself. It wasn't easy adjusting, due to how i now had wings and a different body structure, but i was able to correct myself, at least in a way that i could still fight. "I just wanted to know some directions." I said, shaking my head before charging forward.

They weren't expecting me to charge them head on, but they quickly adjusted and prepared to face me. I quickly moved to the right, moving to flank the main soldier, seeing as how he would be more threatening in the long run.

He wasn't expecting me, and i charged forwards once more, ramming myself into his side. I quickly gripped the ground to stop myself from falling with him, and as he fell, he accidentally hit the other dragon in the face with a wing, dazing them as they fought for balance before falling to the ground.

Both were quick to recover, but i was already on the move once more. I jumped on top of my opponent while he was still struggling to get up, and as he tried to shake me off, i started punching him in the head. After a minute of unsuccessfully trying to get me off, he was starting to walk around, dazed, as i heard a hissing behind me.

Not knowing what the hissing was, i quickly jumped off , and i watched as fire swept above the dragon i was just on, which would have hit me directly if i had stayed there a moment later. However, the other dragon was too late to react, and the first soldier fell to the ground, unconscious, thanks to my pummeling.

I faced the other dragon, who looked very uncertain of what to do, worryingly passing their gaze from me to their comrade. I stepped forwards, and they faced towards me once again, fear on their face. I could see this dragon was actually female, and she was probably new as a soldier, by the looks of her nervousness. I raised my hands up, to show i meant her no harm.

"Look, i didn't want to fight you two, I just wanted directions. Now if you can just point me towards where the Kingdom of the Sea is, I can just be on my way, with no more problems to either party. Now," I said, stepping forwards once more, "which way do I go?"

She honestly looked like she was about to faint at this point, but if this is what i had to do to find my brother, it didn't matter. "Northeast." She said, holding up a trembling talon in almost the opposite direction i had been going this whole time, though a bit off.

I nodded to her, before opening my wings and getting ready to fly once more. "Sorry I had to do that to your friend." I said. "And thank you for the directions." And with that, i took off, leaving the Mudwing soldiers behind me as I finally made my way towards the Kingdom of the Sea.

"Don't worry Jack." I said under my breath. "I'm almost there."

It had been a couple of hours since i had woken up and it started raining, and the rain had started to pour into the cave, covering our feet and going up our legs at this point. We were all huddled together next to Clay, trying to keep each other warm from the coldness of the water. I looked outside to see the rain, which was still not showing any signs of stopping anytime soon. I sighed, before looking towards the others, continuing our wait for Tsunami.

However, there was a sound of splashing that broke the silence, and as i looked towards the source, i noticed Tsunami standing in the entrance of the cave. I quickly nudged the others, who looked as well, with Sunny jumping over, screaming "Tsunami!" As she went over to her.

The rest of us (except Clay), walked over to her, in which she asked us why we were still here during this storm. I was going to explain to her what was happening, when i noticed a large lump on her chest. As i examined it, i realized it was what looked like an egg, strapped in a harness on Tsunami.

"Tsunami, why do you have an egg?" I asked, pointing at it. She turned towards me, about to explain, when Glory made a joke about them not wasting time in the Kingdom of the Sea. I smirked, while Tsunami splashed her with water, and explained how she was protecting the last female egg of her mother.

After explaining, she turned towards me. "By the way, it's good to see you're awake again. You had me worried for a bit there." She then pointed over her shoulder, pointing at a familiar Seawing standing in the entrance. "You have squid-brain over there to thank for your extended nap."

"Hey, i already said i was sorry about that. I didn't realize he was also one of your friends." The Seawing said, staying at the entrance of the cave.

I waved a hand, shrugging it off. "Hey, no problem from me. Sure, you gave me one of the worst headaches i've ever had, but you were doing your job as a guard, so i at least understand your reasoning. Your apology is accepted."

Everyone looked shocked as to what i had said. "Are… are you sure?" He asked, the others agreeing with him. I shrugged, before continuing my line of thinking.

"Hey, in the end, you regret what you did, and you were just doing your job. You still got the dragonets where they needed to be, and I got medical attention, so everything works out. No hard feelings. Though if you could help our friend in the chains back here, it would be appreciated."

Tsunami yelled out "What!?" before going and inspecting Clays chains herself. She then asked us what happened, in which the others proceeded to explain to her what had occurred while she was away. Once they were done, Tsunami looked very upset, and then told us she would be right back, along the way asking the Seawing who i heard as Riptide where the guards would be.

Tsunami flew off, and it was silent once more for a few minutes, with Glory predicting the sounds of fighting to occur any minute. She was wrong, however, as Tsunami came back soon after, holding keys in her talons. While Glory was being surprised, Tsunami went over and released Clay.

Now that we were all free to move, we flew up to another empty cave, this one high up and away from the water. Tsunami said goodbye to Riptide before we left, and as we were all sitting and talking in a dry cave, Tsunami went and got us some food and water that wasn't being used.

As we sat, talked and ate (though the fish Tsunami got was a tad burnt due to how Starflight had set it on fire), I realized i was actually talking and eating with them as a group for once. In a way, it reminded me to eating as a family back home, and i smiled as we continued to talk about Tsunami's experiences so far, many of which were quite interesting.

Finally though, with Tsunami's current little adventure done for now, we all decided it was time to go to sleep. I still wasn't comfortable with joining their sleeping pile, but due to the coldness from the rain outside, i did move a bit closer to them than usual to them, and joined them in the pleasantness of sleep (even if i had just been asleep for a good day and a half).

 _I found myself in a familiar clearing, standing in front of a just as familiar dragon. I shook my head, sighing. "_ I just got done with being unconscious and there is already another thing I have to be warned about? There just is no rest for me, huh?" _I said, shaking my head._

 _Fathom laughed a little bit, before nodding. "_ Like I said, these next few months will be full of peril for you and the dragonets. And tomorrow is definitely a serious threat." _Fathom said, his tone suddenly becoming much more serious._

 _"_ Tomorrow is the day you meet the most dangerous of the three Sandwing sisters currently fighting for the throne, Blister. You must be careful around her, due to how she is extremely deceptive. She may soon see you as a way to use the dragonets, and will try to use you for her own personal game. Under no circumstances must you let her use you." _Fathom explained._

 _I nodded, agreeing with him. "_ Yes, with anyone who is manipulative, the best way to deal with them is to be careful, but not too careful that it's obvious that you know what they are up to. Don't worry Fathom, i've dealt with people like her before, but that doesn't mean i'm going to let my guard down."

 _Fathom smiled._ "You really do seem to have a lot of experience with a lot of these things. I'm honestly surprised, and it kind of makes me worried what you've gone through to be so experienced at a young age."

 _I laughed slightly._ "Nothing worst than the average person, it's just that i think a lot more clearly than most. I've also read a lot of books, so most of my experience is coming from stories i've read."

 _We both shared a laugh at that, in which we both continued to talk for a bit more. Fathom apologized for not being able to warn me about Fathom possibly attacking me, but i waved it off, already having explained why i didn't have any hard feelings about it._

 _As we talked, i decided to ask Fathom about himself, about what he did before he became whatever he was now. Fathom sighed, a smile on his face. "_ I had a great life, though my younger years weren't as pleasant as my older ones _." He then proceeded to tell me about his family, and how he probably still had descendants that were alive today._

 _It was nice, just being able to sit and talk for a bit, not having to worry about much for a change, compared to what i had been having to do the last couple of weeks. I tried asking about what was so unpleasant about his younger years, but due to the expression on his face, i decided to leave it alone for the time being._

 _As we talked, i gave my reasoning for wanting to get home so badly, explaining to Fathom my sister. He nodded before talking once more. "_ Yes, i can certainly understand that. I loved my family greatly, and i can easily understand why you would want to get back to them as quickly as possible."

 _Fathom looked slightly saddened after that though. "_ However," _he said, "_ We still haven't been able to find any leads as to how you got here or how to get you back. I'm sorry Jack, but it definitely looks like you are going to be here for a while."

 _Fear gripped my chest, and i looked Fathom straight in the eyes. "_ How long so far, Fathom?" _He tried to say something about the future always changing, but i interrupted him, asking again, "_ How long?"

 _Fathom sighed, before looking up at me. "_ At least twenty years so far." _He once more tried to tell me how the future was always changing, and how there was always a possibility that it could be sooner, but i wasn't listening, casting myself into my thoughts._

" _Twenty years." I whispered under my breath. I was heartbroken, knowing that my family would probably think that i was dead by then. Even then, as Fathom continued explaining, that was the max that had been seen so far, so it was no telling just how long i would be stuck here._

 _As i was trapped in my thinking, wondering if i really would be stuck here for the rest of my life, the ground began shaking once more, and Fathom apologized as i once more woke up, saying nothing in return._

 **Author's note: Well, i honestly wasn't planning on ending the chapter in that way, but as ideas occur, you have to flow with them. Poor Jack, though. Anyways, thank you all for reading and your support so far. I am absolutely** _ **loving**_ **your oc's that you guys (and gals) are sending me so far. I do plan on using all of them, but to make things easier for me, due to how i've been having a few technical difficulties with reading them, i was wondering if you could pm (private messaging) me all oc's, that way i can directly access them without losing them, and to protect them from being stolen, though i don't think that will happen (hopefully. I personally hate it when my personal work is stolen). Anyways, your oc's are so great so far, and will all make appearances anywhere from the end of book 2 to in between the first and second book arks (aka between books 5 and 6). By the way, i have a form of plan, but i won't use all oc's the same way, but for a certain plan i have, i still need a, Mudwing, Icewing and Seawing, and maybe a Rainwing, (but when given one oc i was informed of another character they had, and she might just be to good not to use, but we'll see), so please help me out if you can, though if you have already submitted an oc, i would ask you to please wait until i request more oc's to be made, in case others want to submit an oc. So thank you all for your support, and i will see you all again next week.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

As i woke up, i was jolted awake from what sounded like a dragon yelling at the top of her lungs. As i slowly opened my eyes, i saw Tsunami was also awake, and was staring at something in the entrance. As I looked, i saw a Sandwing standing in the entrance of the cave, calling down to the lower areas below, presumably to the dragon that was yelling about a missing egg.

After finishing waking up for a moment, still depressed about what Fathom had told me about, i realized what was happening. The dragon yelling about a missing egg was more than likely the Queen, whose egg was currently being kept warm by a still sleeping Sunny. That wasn't the part that shook me from my sleep however. As i remembered everything else Fathom had told me, i locked eyes with the Sandwing standing in the cave entrance.

As i looked over her form, seeing the way she held herself, and how her eyes were

already exploring every aspect of the cave, as if examining her surroundings more, i realized the dragon was more than likely Blister. Remembering both what i had been told about her and my warning from Fathom, i decided to stay on edge, and went to help Tsunami, who was currently trying to wake up the others.

As the others began to wake up, I heard a beating of wings, and as i looked over, i saw one of the most decorated dragons i had ever seen. She stood with a powerful but kind way, and was decorated from the head down with pearls of all shapes and sizes. Only one thing was odd about her appearance, which was a strange gel-like harness attached to her chest.

As i looked down the harness, i saw another dragon fly up, who was smaller and was attached to the other end of the harness. Unlike the few other Seawings i had seen, she was a greyish pink, and for some reason, as i looked at her, i felt a shiver go up my spine, as if something wasn't…right about her, as if she could do something dangerous at any moment. As i shook that thought from my head, i realized that she must be the sister of Tsunami's that Sunny mentioned.

As the others got up, i once more felt a shiver go down my back, and as i turned around, i realized i was being eyed up and down by Blister. In a way, it was like she was trying to figure out the perfect way to use me, which if my assumptions were correct, was probably what she was exactly doing.

As Tsunami walked over and explained to her mother why we had gone up here and how the egg was safe (though the Queen didn't exactly look overly happy with Sunny holding it), I slowly made my way over to the other dragonets, standing near and slightly behind them, trying not to be noticed. I didn't want to get in the way, and at this point i was starting to get creeped out by Blister, who thankfully wasn't looking at me anymore.

Tsunami was then asked to introduce us to "Queen" Blister, in which she just named us off one by one, ending with me. Queen Coral looked upset, but Blister was already all over the dragonets, trying to act nice to each of them individually. I was silently hoping that they wouldn't fall for her act, knowing how she was just trying to persuade them in her favor, when her gaze then turned towards me.

"Ah yes, and Static, the ominus dragon who has appeared to help the dragonets of destiny with their grand prophecy fulfilment. Ever since you appeared in Scarlet's arena, word has spread fast about you. It's just so wonderful that you have decided to help them with such a difficult task, even though it will be much simpler now that all of you are here." Blister said.

As she finished talking, I nodded in agreement, but then cocked my head. "I am honestly surprised I've been talked about, seeing as how I have such a foreign appearance compared to most dragons, and how my first battle in that arena did have a bit of an impact on everyone that saw it." I still had nightmares occasionally about what happened to Sahara, each ending with the crowds cheering. "Though i don't understand how the dragonet's job will be easier here. Sure, this is a safe kingdom for us, but how will they stop a war if they are trapped in one place?"

That was apparently not the right thing to say, as a brief frown crossed Blister's face, even though it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. "Well that's because now that the dragonets have met me, it's obvious what their decision will be, right?" As Blister finished that, she looked towards Starflight, who began stammering an answer.

"I-I mean, of course we would, I mean, you are the best choice, and, um…" As Starflight stammered, the frown on Blister's face appeared again, disappearing once more. I then looked at Starflight, as were the others.

"Starflight, we haven't made any kind of decision like that yet. Besides, we have yet to even meet Blaze, so why are you suddenly all for Blister?" Tsunami asked. As Starflight tried to answer, ending with him muttering, which was just making my suspicions of his currently strange actions rise, Blister interrupted, inviting us to breakfast.

As we agreed (after Clay's stomach rumbled at the mention of food, in which I rolled my eyes), we walked after Blister and the Queen. Blister turned towards Sunny, telling her she could just leave the egg here. Simultaneously, Queen Coral and Sunny shouted "No!", with Sunny saying she wasn't going to leave the egg, and the Queen looking at Sunny with a form of respect.

We flew down towards a pavilion in the middle of a strange winding tower of sorts, which gave off a weird feeling, but looked impressive nonetheless. As we landed, we stood in front of a table, with several other dragons surrounding it. As Queen Coral sat at the head of the table, with her daughter and Blister on either side of her, Tsunami sat next to her sister with Glory and Clay seated beside her, while Starflight sat beside Blister, with Sunny and I.

As we waited for everyone to settle, getting food after the Queen had announced that we could begin eating, I stayed silent, only participating in the small talk with the other dragonets when they specifically acknowledged me. Currently, i was lost in my own thoughts, still fixated on the night before, while also keeping an eye on both Blister and Starflight.

Starflight had officially made me suspicious with his suggestion of having Blister be the next Sandwing Queen, especially after how badly he had lied about his opinion when being asked by Blister. From the way both were acting, I could only guess that she had some hold over Starflight, but the only time she could have done that was before we had gotten to the Seawing Kingdom, due to how we would have noticed him missing or Blister appearing.

My current assumption was that she somehow got a hold of Starflight while the Nightwings had him, but if that was the case, then the currently non-participating Nightwings would be sided with Blister, and if that was the case, there would be problems in the future, due to how Blister would have an army of mind readers and seers at her disposal, which would allow her an easy win to the war.

As i continued to think, i was interrupted by Tsunami loudly talking to her mother,loud enough that everyone could hear her. As she continued to speak, i realized that she was informing her about the dragonet's and my former conditions, and how we were being treated. The thing was, she was doing it in the most awkward way possible, as if she was trying to draw more suspense and attention upon herself. Honestly, it was just...awkward to watch, and i continued to eat as she finished.

In the end, the chef and the leader of the guards were both taken to holding cells till later notice, though the chef did put up a bit of a fit, trying to eat before she was dragged away. I shook my head, before continuing to eat, before Blister spoke up, talking about how exciting everything was here. As she talked to the Queen, i realized she only used her first name, simply referring to her as Coral, which I decided to remember later.

As we continued to eat, Blister asked about a strange dead Skywing that had appeared in Seawing territory not to long ago. When a surprised look crossed Tsunami's face, i cocked my head, and as Queen Coral explained how she had been stabbed by a venomous tail barb, I began to wonder what was going on. When the Queen pondered about how the dragon had had strange burn marks on her hands, Tsunami attempted to stop Sunny, but the realization struck us all at once.

Tsunami, after being asked by Sunny, revealed that it was Kestrel. As Sunny began to cry, with us trying to comfort her, I began thinking. Why was Kestrel not only dead, but all the way in Seawing territory? Last we had seen of her, she had flown off with Peril, and as i thought about that, i wondered about Peril. How would she take the news when she learned that the mother she never knew she had, and had barely just gotten to know?

As Tsunami explained to her mother how she wanted to tell the dragonets first,Blister decided to side with Tsunami, and as she talked, she said something peculiar, joking that Tsunami probably had wanted to stab her with her claws at one point or another. At this, Tsunami looked surprised and confused for a moment, along with Starflight. I could only guess it had something to do with Kestrel's death, and how what Blister was a little too spot on for how we were only informed that Kestrel was killed by a tail barab.

If what Blister had just said was what the three of us though...and due to how Blister was a Sandwing, and thus had the venomous tail barb… it was honestly possible that the murderer of the dragonet's guardian and mother of Peril, Kestrel, was sitting right next to us. If this was right, then the dragonets were in even more danger, and i made sure to keep a closer eye on them, just in case.

When we finished eating, the Queen asked for a dragon named Whirlpool, who looked like a dragon version of most math teachers, due to how boring he looked. She said that she was going to go show Blister the progress on their special project, (which for some reason, she looked down towards her daughter for, which i found curious), in which she started to leave, before Tsunami asked if she could go with them. After a small dispute, it ended with Tsunami being able to go.

Before they left though, i decided to speak up, a small idea coming to mind. "If you excuse me, your majesty, but i have a quick question?" The Queen turned towards me, and i honestly hoped i wasn't doing anything wrong. I had never had to speak to royalty before (not counting Scarlet), so i was really hoping I didn't say anything wrong.

"Oh, you're the strange dragon that is Tsunami's friend. Glad to see that you are no longer unconscious, and i apologize that that dragon even assaulted you in the first place. But don't worry, his punishment has already been dealt out." _Oh, poor Riptide._ I thought, not wanting any revenge on him. "Now what was your question?" Queen Coral asked me.

"Well, i was just wondering if there were any history scrolls here." I asked. At her look, i explained. "I am trying to find some answers as to my...appearance here, as i don't have any idea. I was hoping that by looking into some history scrolls, i might at least find a hint towards the answers i seek."

Queen Coral nodded for a moment, before answering. "Yes, that can be arranged. I am not sure you will find anything, due to how everything we own is just Seawing history, but then again, there is no problem in letting you look." She then turned to look outside, and pointed at a dragon who was flying, and waved her over. The dragon did so quickly, landing in front of the Queen with a bow.

As the dragon stopped bowing, the Queen talked to her. "Please show this dragon the way to where we keep the scrolls, and try to help him find any pertaining to history." She said, pointing at me. The Seawing nodded, before turning towards me. "I hope you find what you are looking for. For now, i must go though. I hope to see you and the rest of Tsunami's friends later." And with that, the Queen left, leaving me with the other dragonets and the Seawing in front of me.

As i turned towards the dragonets to explain what i was going to do, my hand was grabbed and being rapidly shaken by the Seawing. "Hi,mynameisTempest,it'ssonicetomeetyou. TheQueenneverallowsmetoeverdoanythingimportant,duetohowI'musuallysodistractedbydoingotherthingsandWOWyoulookcool!" I honestly had no idea what to do, so i put my other hand on top of her to get her to stop shaking my hand, in which i then let go and looked at her.

She was different from other Seawings i had seen at this point, and if i had to guess, she was around the same age as me, with a blue-violet color with aqua stripes. It wasn't how she looked that was different, however, but her eyes. Not only were they an amber color, which i had only seen in Mudwings and Skywings at this point, but they were quite manic, going everywhere, as if she was extremely excited and didn't want to miss anything.

"Okay, it's nice to meet you, but can you please repeat that? And if you could talk a bit slower, it would be appreciated." I said. She nodded enthusiastically, took a deep breath, then looked at me with a large smile on her face.

"Alright then, sorry about that. I get excited way too easily, but my mother just says I'm the "optimistic" type." She explained. "My name is Tempest. If i had overheard correctly from the times i've been watching you and the dragonet's, i would have to guess that you are Static!" As she said that, she held out a hand, which I slowly shook.

At this point, i was a little bit more than concerned, but i decided to shrug it off. At least i knew that there was such a thing as insanity for dragons as well, but then again, some of my best friends in the past had been insane, so i smiled a bit as i spoke up. "Well, it's nice to meet you Tempest. Do you think you can show me the way to the history scrolls?"

She nodded her head, walking towards the edge of the platform. "Sure, just follow me!" And with that, she literally walked off the edge, not even taking the time to open her wings. I quickly ran towards the edge, watching as she continued to plummet towards the ground, not opening her wings till the last moment possible, continued by what i thought was a series of giggles. I sighed with a smile, before turning towards the dragonets, who looked mildly concerned.

"It's alright, I'll be fine. If you didn't hear, i'm going to go try and research some into how i got here, so if you need me, I'll be wherever the scrolls are kept. Try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone though, please." They nodded, though gave me a look when i told them not to get into any trouble. I grinned at them, before saying goodbye and going after Tempest.

As I flew down, i got to finally take in the beauty of the Seawing's Summer Palace. So far, it had to be one of the most beautiful places i had ever seen, with large waterfalls, a ceiling that consists purely of leaves from plants such as trees that still allows light through, and just an outstanding view. If this place existed back on Earth, it would have been a tourist attraction for certain.

I got a few looks from many Seawings as I flew down, but none stopped me, most likely aware that i wasn't a threat to them. I still got many stares though, more than likely due to my odd appearance. I ignored them though, continuing down and finally catching up with Tempest, who proceeded to lead me to a specific cave.

When we arrived, i was astounded by what i was seeing, though it wasn't as impressive as the Seawing's palace. There were scrolls everywhere in this cave, some scattered on a few tables, while the majority were in what looked like cauldrons. Many of the scrolls were very beautiful, a majority containing hand carved wooden ends that looked like different sea creatures.

"Alright, now if I remember correctly, the history scrolls should be right here!" Tempest said, taking out a scroll from a specific cauldron and looking at it. "Oops, nevermind, this one is contains different recipes. Then again, that seaweed dish I just saw did look good…" She said, eyeing the scroll she had just replaced.

I was mildly grinning, while still wanting to shake my head. "Tempest, do you think that could wait until after we find what I'm looking for?" I asked her. She looked towards me and nodded, in which she went off searching through another cauldron. I watched her for a bit, but decided it would be better to help her instead of just watching.

We went through a few different cauldrons, many pertaining fictional stories set with different genres, but after about ten minutes, we finally came across the cauldron that held the history scrolls. I thanked Tempest, in which she said that she was happy to help, and if i needed anything else, I just needed to call out for her. With that, she left, and as i watched, I saw her sneakily take the recipe scroll with her as she exited.

I couldn't help but smile, reminded of old times, and how I enjoyed people like her. While others may think that insane people are difficult, i always found them quite enjoyable. At least Tempest wasn't too insane that she wouldn't be able to help me, or else there could have been a problem. As I opened up the first scroll, I hoped that I would see Tempest again.

Nothing really happened as I read the scrolls, and began to learn about this world's history. For the most part, there were many key points of interest, such as a mysterious founding of the continent known as "The Scorching", which only mentioned that the world used to be ruled by people. I began to wonder if possible this world was another timeline of my world, but shrugged that off due to the three moons.

There were many other things I learned about as well, such as learning more about the specifics of animus magic, and why it was so dangerous. According to the history scrolls, there was a massive massacre caused by a Seawing animus, which was why animus magic was so discouraged of being used. The details of the massacre were...horrifying, but thankfully the perpetrator, a dragon named Albatross, was stopped before he could take over due to some dragon named Indigo.

After I had read over half the scrolls, with no new information leading towards my arrival here, (other than the animus scroll, which helped to convince me towards Starflight's theory, but made me more curious as to _why_ someone would create that stone I touched to bring me here), I heard what sounded like a shout outside. Not pausing for a moment, i placed the current scroll i was reading down and rushed outside.

When i got out there, I saw what looked like an adult male Seawing falling fast towards the ground, unconscious. I also saw Tsunami in the air, flying towards him, along with Clay, who looked like he was trying to catch him as well. I didn't stop for a second, unfurling my wings and launching myself into the air, reaching the others quickly, and with the three of us, we quickly caught the Seawing, and slowly lowered him to the ground.

As the unconscious dragon lay on the sand, the other dragonets, the Queen and Blister began to appear. Sunny rushed over to the dragon, meanwhile the rest of the dragonets looked shocked as to him being there. As Tsunami talked to the Queen, I asked Sunny who he was, in which she explained that he was Webs, the third and only alive former guardian of the dragonets.

As I looked towards the dragon, I realize he had suffered a major blow to the head, signalling that he most likely had the same injuries as I did. Without a second thought, I knelt down next to Sunny and began taking the bandages off of my head. I had a bit of a headache when I was done, but seeing as how they were clean, I began to wrap Web's head in the bandage, occasionally being aided by Sunny.

As we took care of Webs, I listened in to Tsunami's the the Queen's conversation. Apparently, Webs was deemed as a traitor, both for leaving a fight and for stealing Tsunami's egg, in which his punishment was to be death. Tsunami argued though, saying that even if he wasn't the best guardian, he was still the nicest of them, and was the only one still alive.

As it began to look like Webs might survive, Blister interjected, saying how the assassin that had been killing all of the Queen's eggs was possibly Webs. The Queen quickly agreed, in which Tsunami began to argue, saying how that theory didn't make sense. Blister continued though, saying that it was obvious, due to how it would make Tsunami the only living heir, which could aid the prophecy.

Starflight interrupted though, saying how it actually made no sense, due to the timelines of the founding of the Talons of Peace, the movement that wanted to end the war, and the beginning of the assassinations. When he said this, he quickly stopped, noticing the glare he was getting from Blister, which made me begin to wonder why she wanted Webs dead. As I thought, i realized that if she dead kill Kestrel, and wanted Webs dead as well, it probably had something to do with them being the dragonet's guardians.

As they argued, some soldiers arrived, carrying with them a dragon that i recognized as Riptide. They talked to the Queen, telling her that they had found him outside of the Palace, and was accused of being a spy for the Talons of Peace. Tsunami argued, but when she looked at Riptide, he wouldn't meet her eyes, which was an answer enough. Webs was awake at this point, having been rudely awakened by a dragon who had rudely dumped seawater all over him, in which he was begging the Queen to leave him out of this.

At this point, both Riptide and Webs were at threat of being killed, in which I decided it was time to speak up. "What if Tsunami could prove that Web's isn't the killer?" I asked. Everyone looked towards me, in which I continued, knowing that if I didn't pull this out, the only guardian of the dragonet's that was still alive, along with the dragon that had lead the dragonets here, would be killed. "If she could prove he wasn't the killer, then he wouldn't be charged being the murderer of all of your eggs. In fact, if it could be proven that someone else is the killer, by all rights Riptide and Webs could be let free."

When I was done, Blister was glaring at me, the Queen looked upset while deep in thought, and the dragonets and Riptide were looking at me with smiles, meanwhile Webs was looking at me confusedly, most likely due to how a dragon that looked strange had appeared out of nowhere and was trying to save his life.

"Fine," Queen Coral said, looking towards me. "I can guarantee Riptide's freedom if what you are saying is correct, but Webs still has much to answer for. But that is only _if_ another killer can be proven and found." I nodded, looking towards the dragonets with a determined face, which they all agreed with.

Afterwards, the Queen said that due to how the killers were now in her possession, the last female egg could be taken back to the hatchery. At this, everyone began arguing once more, saying how it wasn't safe. But the Queen was too determined, dead set on the idea that Webs and Riptide were the murderers. Tsunami agreed though, saying that she would not only watch over the egg, but catch the killer in the process.

The Queen left along with Blister, meanwhile Webs and Riptide were taken away by some guards. The dragonets and I circled up, beginning to talk. "I hope you know what you are doing Tsunami." I said, looking at her. "If the killer is only taking down female heirs, you're still a target." She nodded, talking to us.

"Don't worry, i plan to protect the egg and myself no matter what. I'll be fine, and I'll even take a weapon with me, just in case." She said, looking at us. "Besides, while I'm down at the deep palace, the rest of you can investigate up here, and try to find any clues as to who the real killer might be."

I nodded, and with that, we split up, the dragonets going to go investigate around the Summer palace, Tsunami heading down to the deep palace after taking the egg from Sunny, and meanwhile I went back to the history scrolls. I wasn't looking for any hints as to why I was here though, but as to why someone might want to kill Queen's only heirs. Before reaching the cave though, i thought for a second, then yelled out "Tempest!"

As soon as I shouted her name, Tempest appeared out of a small body of water not even five feet away from me. _That's not at all concerning._ I thought to myself, still staring at the small body of water in surprise. "You called for me?" Tempest asked, cocking her head.

I shook my head slightly, not even going to ask about what she was doing there. "Come with me please, I'm going to need your help." I said as I walked into the cave, Tempest walking closely behind me. "You're the only Seawing i can really talk to right now, so I have to ask you a few questions." As I said this, I grabbed another history scroll, this one about the Royal Seawing Family, figuring it was a good place to start.

"Sure, I know tons of things about Seawings, so if you want to know anything, I probably know it. I watch a lot of things, like Seawing biology, the fighting maneuvers the guards learn, the the circumference of the Summer Palace!" I looked up at her at that last one, but just decided to shrug it off again as i started to read the scroll.

"Do you think you can tell me about anyone who has ever had any murderous intent towards the Queen or her family?" I asked her as I began to read. She was silent for a moment, but quickly answered. "Not really. Everyone here loves the Queen, due to how nice she is to us, at least, as long as we don't do anything to upset her. But then again, there was one dragon that tried to kill the Queen." As she said this, I looked up at her, suddenly curious as to what she knew.

"It happened before I hatched, so I don't know the whole story, but one of the Queen's daughters, Orca, challenged her for the role of Queen as soon as she came to age. She almost succeeded as well, but the Queen killed her at the last second. I've heard that her last words were strange, something about how now the Queen would be Queen forever, but I don't know the specifics." As I listened, a new understanding came over me, and I quickly rushed over to the history scroll, quickly looking for Orca.

When I found her, I quickly read about her. Orca was the Queen's first daughter, and had challenged her as soon as possible, but was killed quickly. She was a master carver and sculptor, which lead me to a suspicion, but I had to look through another scroll. As Tempest watched, I pulled the animus scroll out of the cauldron, quickly unrolling it and going over the part about how animus dragons got their power.

As I read over how the powers of a animus dragon were hereditary, I quickly rushed back over to the Royalty history scroll, unrolling it further and finally coming across a name I had seen before. _Albatross._ One of the supposed last Seawing animus dragons, but as I read, I found out that a niece of his had survived his massacre, and had become the next Queen, who had continued the Royal bloodline.

As I realized this, I quickly turned towards Tempest, looking at her with realization and fear in my eyes. "Tempest, tell me, is there anything if the Royal hatchery that was created by Orca, or was of specific interest to her?" I asked, Tempest thought for a second, before nodding.

"Yes, she had sculpted a life-size statue of herself that was placed in there before she died. Why, what's so important about it?" She asked, but I was already moving outside, looking for the other dragonets. "Hey, where are you going?" Tempest asked, following shortly behind me.

I soon spotted the dragonets, once more in the upper cave we had stayed in the other night, talking while eating out of some cauldrons like the night before. As I got up there, i was greeted by Sunny. "Oh, hey Static, we were just discussing what we had found out so far and...what's wrong?" Sunny asked, seeing my expression.

"If I'm right, we have to send someone after Tsunami right away, I believe I know who the murderer is!" I said, in which the others gasped, including Tempest, who had landed behind me. "Quickly, there isn't time, we need to get a guard down to her before it's too late!" I said. The dragonets nodded, in which they got up to follow me.

Tempest got in front of me though, and quickly talked. "Okay, so I don't really know what is happening, but I think I know just the guard. Follow me." I nodded, in which we followed Tempest down to another cave, in which many Seawings sat around, eating, drinking, and laughing. Tempest quickly led us to a corner, where we found a short, serious looking Seawing sitting.

He looked up, and sighed when he saw Tempest. "What trouble did you get in this time Tempest? I told you I can't bail you out of everything and…" He stopped, seeing all of our serious expressions. "This is something serious this time, isn't it?" He asked. Tempest nodded, before explaining. The Seawing nodded, before getting up and beginning to walk out, waving over a group of soldiers.

"Don't worry Tempest, we'll ensure that the Queen's daughters are kept safe. I have no idea why Queen Coral didn't put any of her guards over there over just a theory, but we should get there before it's too late." With that, the Seawing and the other guards flew off, exiting through one of the bodies of water below.

I turned towards Tempest. "Thank you Tempest. It means a lot that you would help us. But who was that dragon?" I asked, in which Tempest giggled slightly.

"Oh, that's Sealion. He's an older guard captain who usually looks out for me, since no one else will. I knew that with a problem like this, he would easily agree to help. Besides, I always try to help out others when I can, so no problem!" She said, smiling at me. I smiled back, but looked towards the where the guards had left.

I only hoped that they could make it in time.

 **Author's note: Woohoo, another chapter, and the introduction of the first fan created oc, Tempest! (courtesy of Kiara Walker). Don't worry though, everyone's else's oc's will appear in time, and I do have plans to have Tempest appear later on. By the way, I am just loving all of your oc's so far! Each has just so much character and so much about them! By the way, I still have two oc slots available currently, those being a Mudwing and and Icewing. Also, I want to thank you all so much for your support of this story, and I will have the next chapter up by next Wednesday, as usual.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

We stood on a beach outside of the Summer Palace, looking out over the ocean. Everyone was there, with the dragonets all huddled together and talking as we all looked over the beauty of the ocean. It was relaxing, being able to take a breath and just look at something relaxing for once.

"I still can't believe that you figured out what had been killing the Queen's daughters for seven yea in just one night!" Tsuumi said, looking at me. I grimaced, seeing the new bandages over her neck. The guards had arrived almost too late, but Tsunami had managed to pin the statue of Orca before it could kill her and the egg.

"I'm as equally surprised as well. With something that simple being the killer, why hadn't it already been caught? And why was it so easy for me, a random dragon who literally only heard about this mystery two days ago, had already solved it?" I asked. "Stinking plot convenience." I mumbled, hiding a grin since i had always wanted to say that.

All in all though, it had seemed too convenient. This mystery had gone unsolved for seven whole years, and is then solved in less than a day? Not to mention how precise i was about it either; the murderer had been the statue, coming alive and killing royal Seawing daughters when no one could detect it.

Tsunami proceeded to talk about how her and her mother had taken a great pleasure in destroying the statue, and now Tsunami and her sisters wouldn't be in any trouble anymore due to it. At the mention of her sisters, a tiny blue head popped up and looked over at us, with Tsunami smiling at her new sister.

As the dragonets proceeded to talk, with Tsunami mentioning how she got the privilege of naming her sister, I looked out at the ocean once more, wondering how my own sister was doing. As I stared out in the waves, i shook my head. It was time to stop focusing on my regrets, and if i wanted to see my sister again, i knew i would have to find a way home first.

I was knocked out of my thinking due to the arrival of Blister, who walked between the dragonets and the Queen, in which we all looked at her. She was wearing a smug look on her face, and asked what we were going to do now.

Before we could reply, Tsunami said how it time for us to go, and how we still needed to visit Blaze and see what she was like. Blister glared, meanwhile Queen Coral had a confused/worried look, asking why we had to go. As Blister tried to convince the Queen to keep us here, Tsunami mentioned how she couldn't keep us here, and that she should refer to Coral as Queen.

Blister looked outraged, and as she yelled at us about how she was going to be their choice for Queen, Starflight decided to add in the detail about how it was most likely Blister who had killed Kestrel, which ended with the dragonets and i glaring at Blister, with Blister glaring back, especially towards Starflight and Tsunami.

Blister looked towards Queen Coral, who looked confused as she grabbed her daughter, and then asked the Queen to put us in prison "for our safety". Queen Coral nodded, calling for guards as Tsunami protested. As Seawings guards appeared around us, Queen Coral said this was for our own good as she swam off, with Blister looking smug at us as she flew away.

As the guards surrounded us, Clay, Glory, and i prepared to fight, with Starflight and Sunny looking worried and Tsunami looking uncertain. I faced off with two guards heading towards me, thinking about using my lightning on them, but knew that that could prove to have consequences. These guards had just appeared out of the water, and using my lightning on them could prove to be more deadly than wanted.

Before we could face off though, Tsunami asked us not to fight. We all looked towards her, and could see the look on her face of wanting to fight, but not wanting to hurt her people. We nodded, though Glory looked hesitant at first. We stopped preparing to fight, and we were then surrounded by the guards, in which we began to be taken to whatever prison the Seawings had.

After flying for a bit (and having to be dragged through underwater tunnels that acter as the entrance/exit of the Summer Palace), we arrived in a tunnel that had falling water on all sides. As we walked through the tunnel, i saw the prisons were islands surrounded on all sides by water, including whatever the gate was. I began to wonder what was keeping tham in their cells when we arrived.

We were standing before a larger island, in which we jumped across one at a time until all of us were on the island. After a moment, the guards pulled two chains, one that surrounded our island with water, another that opened an underwater gate that released...eels would be the description for them, but now only were they much larger than any eel i had ever seen, but they were also much more menacing. As i stared at them, i could see an occasional shock go off of them, and realized with dread that these were monstrous electric eels.

As the guards left, the dragonets and i huddled around, careful to keep our tails from touching the water. "So," I said. "This isn't exactly what i was expecting as a reward for solving a murder mystery. Any ideas on escape?" I asked.

As we discussed, with Starflight explaining how those were definitely electric eels, and Glory informing us just how dangerous they actually are, i began to get an idea. I would have to test my idea first, but if what i was thinking about was true, I might just be our escape out of this prison.

However, before i could mention my idea to the others, Sunny hushed us, saying she heard something. Due to the walls being made of water, we looked down towards the entrance of the caves. As we saw a shape heading down the walkway, Starflight asked Sunny if that was what she had heard, in which she shook her head. I looked at Sunny, concerned: due to the incident with the Skywings, it was obvious that Sunny had better hearing than normal, and i could only wonder what it was that she heard.

However, as we looked towards the entrance of the prison, we saw the dragon that had been walking towards us, which turned out to be Tsunami's sister Anemone. We were all surprised by this, mainly due to how she was off of the harness that seemed to always connect her to the Queen (which as i was later told had been on her her whole life at that point, due to the Queen's paranoia.) She told us how she had come to help, since she was temporarily off the leash.

When asked about escape, Anemone shook her head, with Tsunami agreeing that she didn't want her sister to get in trouble. However, she said that she could find the dragon that had attacked Tsunami in the entrance caves, (which i later had to ask about as well. It turned out it was mentioned when she first got back, but i was still suffering from my concussion at the time to panic too much about).

At that moment, Anemone held up a spear that looked like a horn, and for some reason told it to go find the dragon that had attacked Tsunami. After a moment of silence, the spear raised up and then shot down the cave and out into the open. I could only gape, realization occurring about Anemone, and how she was obviously an animus. As Tsunami told her she didn't have to do that, and asking how she felt, i could only stare at her with a mixture of concern and fear. If the last Seawing animus had decided to murder, what was holding Anemone back?

Anemone said she was feeling fine, just a tad cold, and as we heard a commotion in the tunnel, we watched as another dragon was dragged to the entrance of our prison. As he complained and bickered, Tsunami could only look on in surprise to see that it was one of the members of Queen Coral's council, Whirlpool. I didn't know much about him, other than he seemed to be incredibly boring and that the Queen liked him for some reason. In a way, he reminded me of a boring math teacher i once had, except Whirlpool didn't seem to care about anyone he deemed not important.

As he started talking after being yelled at by Tsunami for attacking her, with him explaining how he wanted the throne, and i realized he was monologuing, i realized now was the time to test my theory. With the dragonets focused on Whirlpool, i decided now was my chance, and while i stood behind the dragonets, i prepared a small jolt of lightning.

My theory was that due to how i was different from other dragons already, especially with the ability to breath lightning rather than flames, i wanted to test if my scales made me immune to electricity. If my theory was correct, then not only would i be immune to electricity, but it would also give me the ability to escape this prison, and hopefully help the dragonets get out. I held my breath, hoping for the best, and as i held out one hand, i let out a small spark that shot out and hit my hand.

I watched as the spark hit my hand, rolled around for a second, before rolling off like water and hitting the ground. I stared in wonder, realizing that i wasn't resistant to electricity, but was flat out immune to it. However, as i pondered over whether to tell the dragonets or to just go and escape now, i heard a commotion, and as i looked over at the entrance of our prison, i watched as Anemone swung the spear at Whirlpool.

There was a sickening thud as it connected with his head, and as he toppled for a moment, we all watched as he fell and slid into the water of our prison. There was suddenly a bright flash of light in the water, with electricity surging through as the eels reacted, and after a moment, it stopped, with everyone staring in shock. Everything was silent, the only noise being that of the eels and the water.

Before anyone could say anything, i realized that now was the time to do something that i hadn't planned. I grabbed Tsunami. "I'll deal with the eels. After a moment, go for your sister." Before she could reply, i dove down into the water, heading in the direction of where Whirlpool fell, the only sound i heard before my head hit the water was Sunny shouting in dismay. I felt bad about not telling them about my immunity, but decided it was either now or never.

I easily found the eels, finding three of them already chewing at a deceased Whirlpool. It had only been a minute at most, but already Whirlpool could no longer be recognized, and still the eels feasted. It wasn't until i was already right next to them that they realized i was there, and by then it was too late. I swam with a burst of speed, swinging my claws down upon them, already taking down two of the terrifying creatures.

As the third one swam forward to try to take a bite at me, i opened my mouth quickly, then proceeded to close it as fast, dealing with the third eel. I quickly spat out what i had nearly eaten, then swam towards the surface of the water. I opened my mouth, taking deep gulps of air, realizing just how close i had been to running out of air. I had never really been good at holding my breath, and when i chomped the third eel, i had lost more air than i had thought.

I looked around from where i was currently swimming to see the dragonets staring at me, though Tsunami was noticeably gone. While i climbed my way back up to the island, Sunny stood in front of me with her wings flared open. "What were you thinking Static? You could have gotten hurt!" The other dragonets agreed, but i shook my head at them.

"Sorry about that, but i wanted to take the opportunity to deal with the eels while they were weak. I just found out a moment ago i'm immune to electricity, and i didn't exactly have time to explain…" I was interrupted from my explanation as Sunny wrapped her wings around me.

"Please don't do something dangerous like that again." Sunny said. "The thought is appreciated, but please stay safe, even though you seem to think you need to protect us so much." Sunny looked up at me, and her face showed her concern. I nodded, before smiling and patting her on the head.

"Don't worry Sunny, i don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon." I said. "Now, since those eels are dealt with, we should have no problem getting out of here." Right as i said that, the water that was falling in front of the entrance of the cave of ours stopped falling, and standing in front was Tsunami, though Anemone was now gone.

Tsunami waved us over, in which one by one we flew over the water and to the other side. Once we were all over, Tsunami yelled at me for a second about doing something dangerous, though since she had heard what i had said, she also thanked me for allowing her to comfort her sister. When asked about her, Tsunami said that she should be fine, and that she was now gone so she wouldn't get in trouble when we escaped.

As we stood there, all outside of our cell, one thought occurred to us. "So now what?" I asked. After a moment, we decided to stealthily make our way out, and once we got to the entrance (after breaking out Riptide and Webs), we would all quickly fly up and through the canopy. Everyone agreed with this plan, and we slowly made our way through the cave.

Right before we made it to the entrance, we came across the cell that held Riptide and Webs. After a moment of messing with the chains, the water stopped falling, and the two were able to join us. Webs looked uneasy, especially towards me, but we continued to make our way down the tunnel. However, we stopped after a moment, Sunny and Starflight both saying that they were hearing and smelling something...off.

We realised too late what was going on, and as Tsunami rushed towards two guards to tell them what was happening, the first bomb fell. I say bomb in a sense that it was a flaming log that fell through the canopy, hitting anything flammable, including dragons, on it's descent. Time felt like it went still at that moment, as the palace erupted in chaos.

We rushed forward, going to see what was happening, but were stopped, due to Clay asking about a Mudwing that was standing before us. After a moment, Webs recognized her, saying that she was a member of the Talons of Peace. At that however, she laughed, saying how she was just using that as her cover, and how she was a spy. At this, Web's looked downcast as she revealed how she used him to find the Seawing Kingdom. However, as she kept gloating how she would now be promoted due to "capturing the Dragonets of Destiny", Glory had had enough of her, and proceeded to shoot her venom at the Mudwing.

I ignored the screaming Mudwing, deciding i could focus on that later as we rushed forward. When we got to the cave entrance, we saw just what was happening. Above the canopy, or at least what was left of it, were many Skywings and Mudwings, lighting logs on fire then throwing them down below. Meanwhile, the palace was in panic, with Seawings everywhere and a few of the guards trying to round each other up to go fight.

I panicked for a moment, realizing we couldn't escape through the tunnel, which was currently blocked by panicking Seawings. I worried for a second about Tempest, but after a moment, i found her, seeing her due what looked like a professional dive into the water below, then disappearing into the crowd. Knowing that she would be fine, i decided it was time to focus on getting the dragonets and the rest of us out of here.

After deciding that our only way out was up, we flew towards what remained of the canopy. When we got there, we were in the middle of a chaotic battle between the Seawing guards and the Skywing and Mudwing soldiers. From the looks of things, the Seawings had the advantage over the Mudwings, many of which couldn't fight back due to how they were holding the logs they were using as bombs. That didn't mean they were doing too great either, with the Skywings still fighting back quite harshly.

I looked on in surprise as Riptide left us, and before i could go after him, Tsunami stopped me, explaining to us what he had just explained to her, and how he was going to fight to defend his home. I nodded, knowing that not only was it the right thing to do, but since he was fighting, Queen Coral would probably not punish him. At least, that's what we hoped.

The rest of us started to try and fly away, but we were easily spotted by the enemy soldiers. We were quickly surrounded by three Skywings. I focused on the one in front of me, who used his wings to push himself forward at me to try and swing his claws at me. At this point, i had never fought while flying, and since i didn't know how to maneuver easily in the air, i decided to fight back.

As he rushed towards me, i quickly prepared a short burst of lightning before he could get to me, that i released in his face right as he reached me. The Skywings cried out in pain, and went down towards the ocean. I hoped he would be fine, and since it was only a short burst of sparks, i knew he would be, and this would only provide as a distraction for the dragonets and i to escape.

I looked at the other dragonets, who had dealt with the other Skywings, one having been dealt with by Glory, and the other by Tsunami, meanwhile Clay protected the others with his fire resistant scales. We nodded at each other, then kept flying. We were halfway through the battle, and at this point all of the enemy soldiers were too busy fighting Seawings to focus on us. For a moment, i thought we were going to make it out unharmed.

As we flew, we were distracted by a sudden shout, and as we looked behind us, we saw a furious Blister headed in our direction. I looked at her eyes, and i saw their murderous intent. I quickly looked at the dragonets and Webs. "Everyone, quickly, FLY!" I shouted. With that initiative, everyone started flying as fast as they could as Blister started to gain on us.

I soon noticed that Webs wasn't flying fast enough, most likely since he was still recovering from his concussion, and i could see that Blister's eyes were focused on him. I remembered how she probably wanted all of the dragonet's guardians dead, and knew i had to keep him alive. I quickly swept around and headed to get to Webs before Blister could. I heard a sound behind me, and soon realized that Tsunami was following me.

We got there soon, and as we arrived, Blister did as well, glaring at us with hatred. She hissed at the three of us, telling us that we couldn't leave, and how she was their choice. I glared right back. "Face it Blister, all of the dragonets have seen how truly evil you are." I said, in which her glare shifted to me. "Even if your sisters died, no one would _ever_ have you be Queen."

I could feel the hatred in her look. With the old saying "If looks could kill", i'm pretty certain i would be more than just dead at this point. "You…" she hissed. "You're the reason they won't choose me." She suddenly grinned. "Well, rather than use you like I was originally planning, i guess I'll just kill you!" With that comment, Blister shot straight towards me.

Once more, i prepared lightning, though this time, before she could reach me, i stopped beating my wings, letting myself fall. As she passed over me, i released my lightning, but she quickly maneuvered to escape it. However, she didn't turn towards me like i had thought she would, and she kept going, heading straight for Webs.

I saw the fear cross both Web's and Tsunami's face, but right as Blister got to him, tail barab raised to strike, i barreled into her, knocking her away. I thought i felt something like a sting against my side, but i ignored it, focusing on Blister, who was focused on me once more. She raised her tail, preparing to strike at me, but was quickly knocked away by a powerful swing of Tsunami's tail. As Blister tried to recover, i prepared more lightning, and shot straight at her tail.

Did you know that lightning, which can reach temperatures of over thirty-five thousand degrees fahrenheit, can set things on fire? And did you know that Sandwing venom is flammable?

As my lightning connected, Blister's tail barb went up in flames, with Blister yelling in pain as she shot down towards the ocean. I knew she might come back for revenge, and now was our only chance to escape. I quickly waved Tsunami and Web's to keep flying. They nodded, with Web's saying "Thank you", before going as well.

The dragonets, Webs and I kept flying for a while, trying to put as much distance between us, the battle, and Blister as possible. Eventually, we came across the mainland, and even then, we kept flying inwards for a bit until we finally found a cave by a creak to stop at. We deemed the place safe (though i was questioning why there were so many conveniently placed caves around), and we decided it was time to rest.

I landed with a loud _thud_ , feeling exhausted from the flying. I didn't know why, but i was feeling weaker from the flight than usual; we had done a lot of flying when looking for the Seawing Palace, and i hadn't felt this weak until a full day of flying. I shrugged it off, deciding to focus on the dragonets. I went over to them, finding them huddled up as usual.

"Is everyone alright?" I asked, looking around. Everyone checked over themselves, and after a moment, everyone nodded. I breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good news at least. I'm honestly surprised we made it out without a scratch, especially after seeing the scale of that battle. I just hope the Seawings will be fine." I said. The others agreed, but Sunny did a quiet panicked yelp before rushing over to me.

"Static, you're hurt!" She said, going over to me side. I quickly peered over to what she was looking at, only to find a small prick on my side. It looked odd, like a sting, but my scales were reacting weird to it, with the slow moving clouds on my scales moving to avoid the wound.

"Huh. I guess i am. It doesn't look too bad though. I think i got that when i was fighting Blister. I should be fine though." The dragonets looked worried though, with Sunny staring at the wound before looking up at me fearfully.

"This isn't from her tail, is it?" Sunny asked, fear evident in her voice. I thought for a moment, rethinking the battle. Was this wound from Blister's tail? I remembered when i had felt a prick, and as i thought about it, at that moment, Blister had looked...overjoyed.

"I...think it might be, though it was only for a split second. Why? What's so dangerous about it?" I asked. The dragonets looked downcast, meanwhile Starflight stepped forward to explain.

"If that wound is from her tail, then you probably got at least a drop of Sandwing venom in your system. However, a single drop is all it takes, with Sandwing venom being so toxic that it can kill even adult dragons. If we can't find a cure before it's too late…" Starflight trailed off.

I paled, realizing what he meant. As the dragonets looked even worse, with Web's looking like he wished he could help, and Sunny even having tears form on the edges of her eyes, i did the only thing I could do: think.

There had to be a cure for the venom, since it was such a widely known and common poison. However, the only ones who might know that cure are Sandwings, and the majority of them were controlled by Burn, who already wanted me dead. However, as i thought, i realized another tribe that had a form of poison.

"What about… the Rainwings?" I said, pausing due to sudden lightheadedness. The dragonets looked at me. "If they also have...a form of poison, maybe they will have… a cure." I said. The world was starting to spin at this point, and i felt very tired. I tried to focus, and as the dragonets nodded, deciding we would go to the Rainforest next, the world went dark.

 _Meanwhile, on the edges of the Kingdom of the Sea…_

I had finally made it to the Sea Kingdom, but i could only sigh as i looked at the horizon, realizing just how many islands there were. One of these had to be where my brother was at, but there were just so many…

I stopped, seeing a pillar of smoke off in the distance. I suddenly became filled with hope, and decided to head in the direction of the smoke. I passed over one island over another, but my focus was up ahead, and as the smoke grew larger, i realized that this was too much smoke for just an ordinary fire. I beat my wings harder, trying to get there quickly.

When i arrived, I found an island that was strangely shaped like a dragon's skull. However, coming out of the top of the island was a large amount of smoke, looking like a fire had just finished burning many plants that were no longer there. That wasn't what had caught my eyes however. I stared down at a place that looked like it once held great beauty, but was now destroyed. As i looked on, i saw many blue dragons, and after a moment, i realized that not only were they not moving, but that they would never move again.

I averted my gaze, knowing i had found the kingdom of the Seawings, but as fear filled my heart, i realized i was too late. I still had to search for my brother though, and i swooped down into the ruins of the palace and began yelling out for Jack.

I kept yelling his name, meanwhile i searched the whole place for even a trace of him. I found many caves, anywhere from a caves with many empty cauldrons in it to a empty weapons barracks. I searched up and down, and there were traces showing that this had just happened earlier that day, but there was no trace of Jack.

I kept searching, panic filling my heart, but relief at not having found a corpse. As i exited one cave, about to shout his name again, i nearly bumped into a dragon that was standing there. As soon as i realized she was there, i quickly jumped back into a battle position. I saw she was not a Seawing, but was some kind of sandish-yellow dragon with a diamond like pattern on her back, a barb on the end of her tail that was wrapped in bandages, and glistening black eyes. "Are you the one who did this?" I asked her through grit teeth.

She casually waved before answering. "No, not at all. In fact, these Seawings were my allies, and i've come to mourn for them. But that doesn't matter right now, because the real question is who are _you_ , and who is this Jack you keep yelling about?" She asked. I held my position for a moment, but the concern in her voice sounded real, so i relaxed before answering.

"My name is Spark, and Jack...that's just a nickname for my brother. Have you met a dragon that looks like me by the name of Static? I've been looking for him, and I heard he was supposed to be here. Though, looking around now…" I said, looking around.

There was some sort of glint in her eyes before she answered me. "Oh, why yes, i have met young Static. Yes, i can definitely see the resemblance. And don't worry though, from what i had seen, he escaped from here unharmed and," She said, holding the world for a moment, "I think i know where he went." She replied.

I felt hope rise in me once more, overjoyed at the fact of how my brother was okay. "Really? Then what are we waiting for? Please, take me to him!" I said, opening my wings, but the dragon shook her head before looking at me.

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple, Spark. I said i know where he is. I didn't say that i could get you to him though." She said, in which i felt the hope leave me. "I believe he is either being held by one of my two sisters, and i do want to get him back as well, but i'm afraid i just can't right now." She said, but then looked at me straight in my eyes. "However, i believe that with your help, we could get him back. So, Spark," She said, holding her hand out, "Do you want to get your brother back?"

I looked at her hand for a moment, before firmly shaking it. "I'll do anything to get my brother back." I told her. She nodded, grinning for a moment before letting go of my hand.

"Excellent. Don't worry, just follow me and you'll meet your brother again." She said, before opening her wings and flying upwards, leaving the devastated area. I quickly followed her, catching up and beginning to follow her.

I was going to rescue my brother, no matter what it took, and as i followed the dragon, i remembered something. "Hey," I yelled out to her, "I forgot to ask you your name." I said. She grinned at me once more before replying.

"My name is Blister, the future Queen of the Sandwings."

 **Author's note: HAHAHAHA...okay, yeah, i'm sorry i'm causing so much trouble with the story. Heck, at the time, i was only planning on the part of having Sara work for Blister, and it only came to me while i was actually writing to have Jack poisoned instead of Webs. I kind of feel bad, but don't worry, everything should be fine...I hope. Either way, thank you all for your support on this story so far, especially with the lovely oc's. Btw, still need a Mudwing, but other than that, I have an oc of every dragon type! You guys are so great, and thank you so much for your support. Meanwhile, at times i really wished i had more time to write; I mean, seriously, i am super busy, and i barely have any time for this story, and just got an idea for a story for a game called "Spooky's Jumpscare Mansion", AND I HAVE NO EXTRA TIME FOR IT! CURSE YOU RESPONSIBILITIES! Anyhow, thank you so much for reading this story up to this point, and as usual, the next chapter should be up next week.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 _It was dark once more. At this point, I was getting used to it. I had opened my eyes at several points during this strange adventure of mine to find myself like this, and began to wonder when something would happen. As I floated in the darkness patiently, the all-too familiar clearing began to fill out underneath my feet._

 _As the clearing filled out and i stood on the ground, I noticed something different: there was a patch of grass in the middle of the clearing that was black, and when i walked up to it, i discovered it was a small patch of dead, shriveling grass, and as I looked closer, i noticed it was spreading to the rest of the grass, one blade at a time._

"This clearing represents your physical condition." _I heard a voice behind me explain. I Turned around to find Fathom standing behind me, but this time he looked much more somber. "_ What happened earlier during your escape was not supposed to occur. It was Webs who normally encountered the Sandwing sister's sting, not you, and not that close to your heart." _He said._

 _Fathom pointed to a part of the clearing that i had overlooked a few times. It was a circle of small growing plants, ranging from flowers to trees, and when I followed them, i saw that the plants branched out from each other, taking small paths to even larger groups of plants, though none as dense as this one. The black patch of dying grass was about three yards away from it._

"What do you mean this glade represents my physical condition?" _I asked Fathom._ "How would that even work if we're in a dream like world?" _I looked around the glade, wondering how much I hadn't seen before, and more so, why I hadn't seen it before. I guess I was just distracted the last few visits, though that did make sense._

"This is a dream like world, but it is a dream state inside of your unconscious mind. That is how I am able to visit you while you are asleep, due to how your mind is open only when it drifts off to sleep." _He then waved over the glade. "_ This glade represents you due to how it is your mind. However, that is not the issue we need to talk about right now."

 _Fathom looked over at me seriously._ "Jack, you are dying. When that patch of grass reaches your heart, it will quickly spread to the rest of your organs and you will be dead. There will be a cure within the next week, however, the only way you will live to see it is by not participating in the dragonet's adventures. By resting, you will slow your blood flow and the poison's progress. However, there is much danger in the coming days as well, and if you increase your blood flow by trying to protect them, you will die."

 _For a moment, I looked at Fathom, before shaking my head. "_ I'm sorry Fathom, but remember, the dragonet's have to live to fulfill their prophecy. I'm just some guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I promised both you and them that I would protect them, and if that means I die, so be it. Besides," _I said, looking down. "_ I was already going to be stuck here anyway, and if I die at least knowing I was able to protect the dragonets, it will at least make me feel better."

 _Fathom looked upset at this point, slamming his hand into the ground._ "You can't protect them if you're dead, and there will be no hope of getting home if you don't try! The dragonets still have more danger to face, some foes more dangerous than what they will face these coming days. If you really want to protect them, then you need to rest and wait for the cure and hope for the best!"

"And what happens when I don't intervene these coming days?" _I asked him, glaring back._ "How many times will the dragonets be in danger and I'll have the opportunity to help them, and if I don't, they could die?"

 _Fathom glared back at me, before looking like he was thinking for a second, in which he answered._ "Once, and that will be right after the antidote is aquired and you'll still be recovering. I will tell you when that happens, so don't panic until then."

 _Fathom's shoulder's slumped, and he looked worried once more instead of angry like moments before. "_ Look Jack, you don't know how important it is that you make it through the next few months. You've already done well so far, changing certain events in such different ways, but for the future to not be destroyed, for others not to die because of the grief of your death, you must live. So please, as a friend," _He added, looking at me with a small grin, "_ Try to at least take it easy."

 _I looked back at him, confused by his words. How was I going to be important? Who would grieve over my death, other than the dragonets who I had come to befriend? But, at the last part of what Fathom had said, I sagged my shoulders as well, releasing the tension I didn't know I had been holding. "_ Alright," _I said, "_ I'll try to take it easy until I am healed. But if I see the dragonets rushing into danger, you should know I'll being going straight after them."

 _Fathom nodded slowly. "_ I know," _He said, looking over at the patch of dying grass. "_ That's what I'm afraid about."

 _Meanwhile, at Blister's secret base..._

We had flown for quite some time, taking at least a day to make it to where we were now. Wherever this place was, of course. During that time, I had began to talk to Blister, in which I began to find out what was happening in this strange world I had landed in.

The whole continent was called Pyrrhia, which was currently in a large war due to miscommunication between Blister and her sisters after their mother's death on who should be the next Queen. The other two, Blaze and Burn, had seemed to get the other dragon tribes involved, leaving Blister with only the Seawings and any loyal Sandwings on her side.

According to Blister, either Blaze or Burn had my brother, who according to Blister had been really helpful to her, and was being held hostage. If I was to get him back, i was going to have to sneak in and get him out myself, but due to how I didn't have the experience to do so, Blister had taken me back to her current base to have someone could teach me.

I agreed with this plan, ready to do anything to get my brother back. I didn't know what skills I had to learn, other than being stealthy, but then again, anything that might help could be useful in the long run. I just hoped that I would be able to get him back with as little damage to others as possible, but if push came to shove, I would do anything to get him back.

We had been flying for some time, until Blister took a sharp turn, and as I followed her, we began to fly into what looked like a large but hidden cavern. As we flew into it, the light began to dim, until eventually we saw torchlight ahead. As the torchlight grew, we came across what looked like a castle wall, and standing at either end were Sandwings. As we came closer, the Sandwings noticed it was Blister, and bowed, in which she nodded towards them as we flew over.

As we continued to fly, I began to notice Blister's secret base, and just how massive it was. There were tents everywhere, many lit by torchlight. Sandwings were walking about, some around what looked like a food tent, a large group of them going through exercises, and others just standing amongst themselves and talking. All in all, it reminded me of a military base in a way.

As we flew, a small looking Sandwing came and flew up to us, in which Blister slowed down and began hovering in the air, and I decided to copy, flying right behind her. "Your majesty, welcome back." The small Sandwing said as she got up to us. "I take it your meeting with the Seawings involving the dragonets went well?"

I didn't know what she was talking about involving dragonets, but at the mention of them, smoke began to come out of Blister's nose, in which she growled, "We will discuss that later." I began to wonder who they were before Blister continued. "For now though, we have a new ally, and I would like her to be trained. Where will I be able to find Scorpion?"

The Sandwing seemed to shudder for a moment before answering. "Last time I saw him, he was over by your tent, your majesty." Blister nodded before waving the dragon away, telling her to gather other for a meeting. At that, the dragon left, with Blister flying once more and with me following her.

"The dragon you are about to meet is a slithering serpent and shouldn't be trusted, but he always gets his job done, which makes him the perfect teacher for you." Blister told me as we arrived at a larger tent. We stepped inside, in which we found what looked like a battle planning room, with a neat pile of animal furs in a corner which I presumed to be a bed.

As Blister looked around, I could hear her grumble a bit under her breath. "Now just where in Pyrrhia is that insufferable dragon?" She asked, going over to the large table which had a map on top of it.

"Which insufferable dragon would it be this time, your majesty? I know you just couldn't possibly be talking about me." As he spoke, a large Sandwing stepped out of the shadows, looking towards Blister. He had scales that of the color of desert sand, and a black tail barb. As he stepped into the light, however, I was also able to make out a large scar that lead from the base of his neck, all the way down to the base of his tail. He had pure black eyes like Blister's, and just like hers, they appeared to be calculating everything.

Blister jumped back a bit from where he stood, which was just a few feet away from her. "You know I detest it when you appear like that Scorpion. I would shout at you, but now is not the time for it."

"Ah, something important enough to stop you from nagging me like you usually do. Must be quite important then. I take it that it involves this young dragon that stands over there?" He asked, pointing towards me. At this point, I had no idea what to think about what was going on, but everything about this screamed trouble. I stayed, however, thinking about my brother.

Blister nodded while glaring daggers at him. "Yes, that is correct. I am going to have some future assignments for you, and I always remember you saying how you couldn't do some alone. Well, lucky enough for you, this dragon has some motivation to see the jobs done, and thus I want you to train her."

Scorpion looked over at me, then over at Blister. "Not interested." He said flatly. Blister looked like she was about to yell at him before he continued. "I t isn't that I don't want to have a student, even though I really don't, but it's the fact that this dragon doesn't even look like she could injure a dragon, let alone kill one."

I gulped, not liking the idea of having to kill someone, but Blister rolled her eyes. "Just because you're an assassin doesn't mean you have to kill every dragon you see. I would order you to train her, but then you might just kill her on "accident". So, seeing as how the only way you'll train her is if she proves herself…" She then waved lazily at me. "Go ahead, attack her. Just don't kill her."

I only had time to widen my eyes in shock at Blister before Scorpion pounced over at me. However, I shook out of my shock quickly, and jumped out of the way at the last second. As I turned towards Scorpion, he was already on the move again, headed straight towards me, in which I tried to breath lightning at him.

Before even a single spark had leapt out of my mouth, Scorpion had rushed his hand upwards, grabbing my lower jaw and slamming it shut. He raised his other hand, holding out one talon and waving it side to side. "No, no, no. We can't have anything coming out of that little mouth of yours, now can we." He then turned towards Blister while still holding my mouth shut. "See, just like I told you, zero potential…"

As he talked, I quickly slammed one arm out and jabbed him right under his arm that was holding my mouth shut. As his arm recoiled, I swung my other arm forwards, hitting him square in the chest, knocking him back a step. As I readied a battle position, he looked at me with a deadly glint in his eyes, before he started laughing.

As I looked at him confusedly, he rushed forwards once more, but as I tried to block, he swept from the side and took out my right feet, flipping me onto my back, and as I tried to lift up my head, he had a talon to my neck. "Lesson one: never let yourself be distracted." He said, looking at me seriously before turning to Blister. "Fine, I'll teach her, though it will take some time."

Blister nodded as Scorpion raised a hand down, in which I took it as he helped me back up. "Come," He told me, walking to leave the tent. "We have some work to do."

 _Late at night, just outside the rainforest…_

I began to wake up to the feeling of something soft and wet being tapped against my forehead. As I blinked my eyes open, I heard a small gasp, and as I opened my eyes fully, I found a happy looking Sunny standing over me, and she was holding what looked like moss, which was most likely what was being used on me.

I didn't have time to ask about that though, because I was currently being hugged by Sunny. "Thank goodness you're awake!" She whispered while wrapping her wings around me. After shifting myself to be sitting up, I returned the hug.

"Yeah, sorry to panic you with that. I didn't exactly plan on falling unconscious." Sunny looked up at me and gave me a look. I smiled back. "Sorry about worrying you and the others though. I should be fine though." I said as Sunny let go of me.

"What do you mean you'll be fine? Did Fathom say so?" I looked around quickly, wondering why Sunny would ask me that out loud, but thankfully enough the others were all asleep, which made me wonder just how long I had been out.

"Yeah, Fathom said I would be fine in the long run." I told Sunny. I decided not to tell her about the part where I had to rest the whole time, afraid of how that might affect things. "But how long was I out for? I would guess a day, but judging by how those trees in the distance look like a Rainforest, i'm guessing it's been longer than that."

Sunny nodded, looking a little bit worried once more. "Yes. You've been out for about four days now Jack. We we're able to make a stretcher for you though, and we've been carrying you until you woke up. I've been taking care of you as well. At first, you had a fever, but thankfully it started to go away, and now that you're awake, it appears to be gone all together." She gave me a small smile. "You had us really worried there."

I smiled back at Sunny. "Don't worry Sunny, I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. And thanks for taking care of me, though I wish I hadn't gotten into this condition in the first place." I said, looking towards the wound. I stared at it for a moment, surprised by its change in appearance.

Whereas the wound had just been a puncture that the clouds on my scales avoided, it was now a large dark grey spot, with thunder clouds surrounding it. As clouds past, I saw little bits of the clouds drawn away, joining the storm that was now my wound. It still wasn't too large, but it was definitely larger than before, and according to Fathom, size didn't matter if it reached my heart.

Sunny drew away my attention from my wound by speaking up again. "Yeah, I knew you would say something like that, but that still doesn't stop the fact that you're injured. Let's hope that Fathom was right and that you'll get your cure soon."

I nodded, agreeing with that statement. I looked up at the sky, and saw that the moons were high up in the sky. "Sunny, just how long have you been up?" I asked, and as I looked close, i thought I could see small lines under her eyes.

"Oh, not too long. I just wanted to make sure you were doing all right before going to sleep yourself. Now that you mention it though, from all the travel and such, I am really tired." She said, looking at the sky as well.

"Then get some sleep then. I know that even though I've been unconscious for four days, I'm still tired. So go on Sunny, get some sleep, I know you've earned it." Sunny smiled at that, and she went over to the pile of the dragonets and laid herself down with them. "And thanks Sunny."

She smiled at me before closing her eyes. "No problem Jack. You know how much we all care about you." And with that, she was silent, in which she was probably going to sleep. I followed her example, getting comfortable on the ground underneath me, letting sleep take over me.

The next morning, the rest of the dragonets were glad that I was awake as well, though I was knocked slightly up against the side of my head by Tsunami and Glory for making Sunny worry so much, though judging by their smiles, they were just as glad to see me awake as the others.

While having a form of breakfast of more fish which was caught in a nearby river, I got to talk to Webs a bit. He thanked me for taking the blow for him and for caring for the dragonets at this point, in which I basically told him that it was no problem. We talked for a bit, and he seemed like a nice person, it's just that he had lost a lot for some of things he believed in.

I felt a bit bad for Webs, but I knew that the relief of knowing Riptide was enough to give him some happiness, along with knowing that the dragonets were still fine. We finished our conversation, in which we decided to begin our descent into the Rainforest.

After walking for a bit, I grimaced, noticing some pain emerging from the wound. I pushed it off though, trying to focus on the forest instead of the pain. I did find the Rainforest interesting though, due to how I had never been in one before. We were only in the outskirts however, and there was a low fog, which gave a bit of a menacing atmosphere.

We trudged though for a bit, and I was already starting to despise the Rainforest. The ground was soaked with mud, and there were insects everywhere, and feeling them crawl on my scales felt creepy. The worst part however was the humidity, which was extremely high. I had never dealt well with high humid climates, and here as a dragon wasn't any different.

After a bit though, we stopped, due to Sunny having heard something. We instantly stopped, since Sunny hadn't been wrong with her hearing at this point. After a minute, we spotted two Mudwings that looked like guards coming our way.

We immediately went into hiding, though Glory and Tsunami began arguing for a moment on how we should be hidden. In the end, Glory was going to camouflage Sunny, while the others hid under a fallen tree while Clay, using his mud colored scales, concealed them. I was going to crouch low in the fog, letting my scales conceal me.

After we were hidden, a minute passed and the Mudwings appeared. They began to walk past us while talking to each other. As they talked, I overheard talk about some kind of monster in the Rainforest, and how they wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. This sent up flags in my head, but I knew we had to get to the Rainforest Kingdom if we were ever going to get me a cure. It just meant we had to be more careful.

After they had almost passed, I saw the outline of what I could only presume to be Glory pass, and Sunny almost cried out before she shushed herself. I decided to follow Glory, wondering why she was following the guards.

I found Glory not to far away, no longer camouflaged. Before I could ask her what she was doing, I stopped in my tracks, noticing what she was staring at. It was the two Mudwing guards, lying dead on the ground.

I quickly nudged Glory, getting her attention. "Come on, let's get back to the others." I said as she turned around quickly towards me in surprise. "Whatever did this can't be too far, so we should get the others and keep moving." Glory nodded, and together we went back to the others.

When we got there, we were asked where we had went. Glory explained how she wanted to hear more about what the Mudwings were talking about, and how we had found their corpses. The others looked surprised at this, with Starflight even looking scared, and we all agreed to keep moving.

We quickened our pace, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible. It made the wound in my side hurt a bit more, but i trudged through it, wanting nothing to do with any kind of "Rainforest monster".

We finally slowed down after a bit, and we decided to take a break. As we rested, I noticed how the fog was gone, and now there was light in the forest. As the Rainforest began to light up, I began to see more of the beauty of it, which definitely was a change of atmosphere from not even minutes ago.

There was beauty everywhere, all created naturally by nature. There were many colors everywhere, stemming from plants and animals alike. The scent of fresh rainfall collided with that of the natural scents of flowers, giving a pleasant, earth like smell. All in all, it was a nice time to stop and rest.

After some time had passed, we decided to get moving again. We all looked around the forest as we walked, taking in the sights as we moved. We walked for some time, making our way through the forest, talking to each other occasionally, pointing out one thing or another to each other.

As we talked for a bit, talking about the possibilities of some sort of monster actually being here, I noticed how Sunny hadn't spoken up in a bit. As I turned to where she was walking a moment ago, i noticed that she wasn't there. Confused, I began looking around, seeing if she had moved. After a moment, I concluded that Sunny was missing and told the others.

The others began to panic, especially Starflight and Clay, everyone wondering where she had went. As we all looked around, and after a minute, I noticed something strange: Webs was now gone as well.

Now everyone was starting to panic, having just seen him a moment ago when we had concluded that Sunny had been missing. I told everyone to quickly gather close to each other, concluding that if something was making us disappear one by one, it would be best if we were grouped together, that way we would be able to react before someone else went missing.

As we grouped around each other, Tsunami yelped, saying something had bit her neck. As she raised up her hand that had swatted her neck, I had time to see a dart sticking out of it before her eyes shut and she fell over. As Clay went over to her side, he too fell over, another dart sticking out of his leg.

Glory quickly moved out of the way, and after hearing a _thunk_ , I looked over to see a dart sticking out a tree. Instinct took over, and I quickly rolled quickly to the right, and as I looked back to where I had been a moment ago, I saw a dart sticking out of the ground.

Before I could inform Glory and Starflight, the only ones still conscious, and what was happening, Glory shouted up into the trees, telling whoever was there to stop and to come out of hiding.

I watched in fascination as we were surrounded by many Rainwings, and if it hadn't been for the fact that they were all bright colors and looked fascinating, I would have had a panic attack, due to my fear of their venom. However, as I was fascinated by their large gathering of almost every color possible, I felt a small prick in my tail. I had time to look towards my tail and see a dart sticking out of it before dizziness took over, and I fell towards the ground, darkness taking over before I even landed.

 _Meanwhile, above the dragonets and the Rainwings, though not visible to anyone…._

I watched with amusement as young Jack fell over, having been knocked out by a simple sleep dart. I had believed he would have been able to avoid them, but seeing as how those Rainwings distracted him, it makes sense that he was caught.

As the young Rainwing who was part of the dragonets talked to the other Rainwings, I grew bored, having found my source of amusement now asleep. It wasn't a terrible loss, of course; he was going to need as much rest as possible with that wound of his.

I walked away, a small gate appearing before me as I walked through it. I found myself in my cave that I had called home for quite some time now. It was a simple little cave, with an open ceiling that allowed me to see the passing clouds, and at night, the open sky. I didn't have much in the cave, other than my shelf accompanied by many scrolls, my pile of animal furs that I called a bed, and my shelf of miscellaneous objects, some I created, some that I had gathered over the years.

I walked over to my treasures, looking them over for a minute finding what I was searching for. After finding a certain sundial, I grabbed it, taking it to the center of the room and letting it catch the sunlight.

"Tell me when Jack will wake from his current slumber." I told the sundial. The shadow flickered for a moment, before moving to land at the four. I sighed, having to wait three hours before my amusement could begin again. I shrugged it off however, moving the sundial back to the shelf. With as long as I had been alive, a few hours wasn't too long.

I walked over to my pile of furs, laying down until I was comfortable, before tapping a small statue of a bird in front of me. "Wake me in three hours." I said, before closing my eyes, knowing that I would soon wake to the sound a small cawing. As my eyes shut, darkness spread before my vision as I was cast into yet another sleep.

While my body slept, I began to ponder just how soon I should make myself known. I was growing bored of just watching from the sidelines, but Jack's adventure so far had me growing curious as to what he was going to do, now that he was poisoned.

I also began to ponder as to the actions his sister would now be committing, now that she was being taught in the ways of the assassin. I shrugged, knowing that anything could happen, but I wasn't overly concerned what she was going to do, rather than her brother. She wasn't even supposed to be here, but then again, her current actions had made me glad that the stones had brought her here as well.

I could only ponder about the stones though. I had created them to only take Jack here, not Sara. So had I misspoken the enchantment? Wouldn't be the first time, and as I thought about it, I decided I would go back and find the specific wording later. For now, I had some sleep to catch up on.

 **Author's note:** **So yeah, welcome to Book 3 in the story! As the story progresses, we have finally met a mysterious character in the background! What will happen next, who knows! Even I don't know at this point! Anyway, thank you all for your support in the story so far. I am happy to say that I now have an oc for every dragon tribe, and my goodness, why are so many of them insane? Eh, more fun for me, I guess. Anyways, thank you all for your support, and once again, the next chapter will be up next week.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 _As I drifted through the realm of sleep, with darkness surrounding me on all sides, I once more saw a faint light. I knew I was asleep, and how going to the light would bring up another old memory, like before. However, after drifting around for some time, wondering when I would wake up, I decided to just go along and go to the memory._

 _However, as I went towards the memory, I began to feel cold, and there was what could only be described as an uneasy feeling. The feelings grew worse and worse as I approached the memory, and by the time I reached it, I finally recognized the memory for what it really was. But it was too late to turn back, and even though I tried, I was sucked into remembering one of the worst moments of my life._

 _There are points of life that you can only describe as a living nightmare. This event was even worst than that, but it had shaped my life so much that it couldn't be ignored. This event was what not only made me choose to try to never cause others pain, but what also caused my sister the urge to protect the ones she loves._

It was a winter day, many years ago, and my sister and I trudged through the snow, making our way back home from the local supermarket. We had been missing a few ingredients for dinner that night, and our mother had sent us out to get them. Nothing had gone wrong on the way there, and the time at the store was fine, but it was the walk back that changed our lives.

As we trudged through the snow down the empty street, we heard a car begin to come up behind us. We paid it no mind, due to how we were focusing more on the snow in our boots and looking forward to hot cocoa when we got back home. However, unlike every car before, this one began to slow down, to the point where it was striding along with my sister and I, in which we stopped to look at it. Looking back, we should have just kept walking.

It was an average white van, nothing you wouldn't see every now and then. However, as we stopped, so did the car, and after a moment, the driver came out through the side door. He was a creepy looking man, at least, that's what my twelve year-old self thought, due to his ragged clothes and long beard. However, it was his eyes that worried me the most; they had a sinister look to them that to this day I still hadn't ever seen again.

He looked down and smiled beneath his beard at my sister and I. "Hey kids, what are you doing out here in the cold?" He had a gruff voice, and at the sound of it, I wanted to do nothing other than take my sister and run. However, all the two of us could do was stare at this strange man in front of us.

He waved towards his open car door. "Come on, I'll give you a lift. Besides, it's warmer in here anyway." He had the same smile pasted on his face as he turned towards the car and gestured us inside. However, as I stared at the car, i saw inside something that made my heart go as cold as the winter day.

As I stared at the object, I could see out of the corners of my eyes both my sister and the man following my line of site. While my sister squeezed my hand tight, the man made a nervous chuckle. "Oh, uh, sorry about that. I meant to put that away, and uh...ah, screw it." The man turned back towards my sister and I. "Get in the van. Now." He said with sternness in his voice.

I froze not knowing what to do. There was no one else in sight, and we were still about two blocks away from our home. As I stood there, the man growled and reached for my sister. As he grabbed her home, she started to scream and protest, which knocked me out of my stupor. I went to try and grab my sister away from the man, but his other arm swung at me, knocking me into the snow.

As I sat back up, I could see my sister being forced into the van, kicking and screaming. With the man's back to me, I looked back towards the object I had seen in his van, and I knew what I had to do. I knew what I was supposed to do was wrong, but it was either that or something worse would happen, and I knew I had to protect my sister.

As my sister got a kick on the man, making him get angrier at her, i grabbed the object and pointed it at the man, aiming it at his chest. As he raised his fist to retaliate towards my sister's resisting, I did what needed to be done.

There was a loud sound, making my ears ring, and then there was silence. The man dropped my sister, and slowly turned his head towards me. His cold eyes focused on me, but I wasn't paying attention to him. I quickly grabbed my sister, pulling her out of the van and keeping the object raised towards the man. However, the man fell, landing face first in the snow, no longer moving.

My sister cried against me as I held her, but all I could do was stare at the man. After enough time had passed, I let go of the object, then buried my head into my sister's shoulder, hugging her deeply and crying my eyes out. We both fell to the ground, crying and holding each other. We stayed there in that position for what felt like forever, until the police arrived at the summon of the noise of the object I had used.

My sister and I were eventually taken home, though the two of us refused to leave the other. We stayed that way for the longest time, with our parents never leaving our sides during the whole procedure, and were just glad we were safe. However, the action I had taken haunted me, and every night I would wake up in a cold sweat, the last thing I had seen being the man's face. I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep until I made sure my sister was still safe.

Overtime, it got to be too much for me, and I promised myself I would never hurt another person, not if it meant the same outcome as what had happened to the man. After I had promised myself this, the nightmares began to go away, and that lasted for a long time, with no one talking about the incident. However, when it was suggested to take self defence lessons, the memories returned, which is why I was against it.

 _I exited the memory, feeling what felt like tears going down my face at the memory. However, I knew it wasn't over yet, and I felt myself being drawn into yet another memory. As I entered, I looked around, and remembered this as the day that my sister and I fought. It was only a few years ago, when I had finally left the self defense lessons._

We had just entered back into our house, having been dropped off from my final lesson from our mother who had to go pick up groceries. As we set our bags down, I turned to head towards my room, but I felt a hand grab my shoulder. I turned around, finding my sister looking angrily at me.

"Why are you leaving the class? I know you've always disliked it, but you know it's for your own good!" She said. I shook my head towards her, which only made her look angrier.

"Look Sara, I don't like the idea of hurting people, and that's exactly what that class might have me do one day, accident or not. You can stay if you want, but don't drag me into it just because you somehow enjoy it." I went to turn around, but my sister grabbed my shoulder more tightly.

"And when will you understand that sometimes people need to be hurt to keep others safe!" She shouted at me. "I don't learn just for fun, I learn so I can keep the ones I love _safe_. That's why I want you there too, so that you can help me keep you safe!"

"Sara, I can keep myself safe, and you know that. There are ways to solve problems without violence, and not your fists. Or your elbows. Or your legs." I said, trying to make a joke to lighten the mood, but my sister wasn't budging.

"Do you know why I want to keep you safe?" She asked quietly. I looked at her, and could see tears in her eyes. "I want to keep you safe because you have already kept me safe in the past, and I wasn't able to do anything. I hate being useless, but if not only I can fight, but you can too, then I know we'll be safe."

I looked at her, then quickly hugged her. "Sara, we'll always have points of our lives where we'll be in danger, but fighting isn't the answer. It just causes more pain for everyone involved. I know you don't like being useless, and im not saying you are, but I just don't want to have to get violent myself."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, because she soon broke the hug, glaring up at me. "Then prove it. Prove that you can keep yourself safe." She raised her hands, which were now balled into fists. "If you can prove it, then I won't argue with your choice. But if I do win, you have to agree to come back."

I shook my head. "No. I'm not going to fight you just because you want your way. Mom already agreed to it, and I'm already no longer certified there, so there's no point." I tried to argue with her, but she only appeared to get angrier, and as I finished, she charged at me.

I sighed, then went into a stance. As she came to me, I prepared to grab her. However, she had ducked down to the side to try and get my right side, which I had left open. I had left that side open on purpose, however, and quickly turned and grabbed her right arm, moving with her movements to drag her arm behind her back.

As I did this, my sister tried to recover, swinging her left leg at me. I grabbed it however, and now that I had both her left leg and right arm, I picked her up, then practically threw her into the couch. Before she could get up, I lied on top of her, pinning her down. As she tried to get out, I talked to her.

"Look Sara, I know you care about me, and just want to keep me safe. But I'm the older brother; that's my job. I know you don't like the idea of me not being able to defend myself, but you know just as well as I do that I will be fine." I brushed hair out of her face as she tried to glare up at me. "The thought is appreciated though."

She sighed underneath me, finally giving up and relaxing. "I know all that. It's just... I can't imagine the idea of you getting hurt, and I want to do anything to prevent that!" She said. She looked extremely saddened, in which I decided to get off of her, but before I fully got off, I went back down and hugged her, in which she returned it.

"Look, Jack, I just want to protect you, just as you protected me. Even if you won't go back, can you at least allow me to protect you?" She asked, looking at me. At my look, she quickly added in, "In the sense of if you need to be protected, at least."

I sighed, but decided it would be best to at least give her some comfort. "Alright Sara, if I ever need to be protected or saved or whatever, you can try to do it. Just don't get yourself hurt either, alright?" I asked. She just nodded before hugging me tighter.

"Thank you Jack. I swear, if you need to be saved, I'll do anything to do it...while keeping myself safe as well. Or, at the very least, I'll try." She let go of the hug, and as she finished talking, I sighed and smiled back at her.

"Well, that's the best I can ask for, at least. Now come on, let's go put our bags away." The both of us got up and did just that. _As we walked away, talking about each other's days like nothing had just happened, the scene began to fade back to black, and I was once more in the dreamless void of my unconsciousness._

" _Why am I remembering all of this now?" I asked myself as I drifted through the void. The answer did not come to me, but once more, even though I told myself I wouldn't, I could only worry about Sara, and wonder how she was doing._

 _Meanwhile, at Blister's hidden base…_

I quickly dodged to the right, making my way under Scorpion's tail, and I went to jab at him from behind. However, he was expecting this and quickly blocked my blow with one of his own, which sent me back a few feet as I tried to distance myself from him.

"While I do find your bit of combat strategy amusing and useful with your training, it won't do anything good if you aren't close to your opponent and can't take them out quickly." Scorpion said, closing the distance and going to swing at me once more, which I managed to block once more.

We had been sparring for a few hours now, after Blister had introduced and sent us off. Scorpion proceeded to just get down to it and begin teaching me. He went into a basic understanding of what his role here was, and what I was about to get myself into. In a sense, it was like a black ops group, except at the time it was only him.

Scorpion was in charge of dealing with assassinations, stealing, and setting people up, along with intercepting messages and other stealth work. Up till now, the only reason he was working by himself was because he requested it, and he was the best at what he did. He prefered the jobs that didn't involve murder, but didn't care one way or another if it had to be done.

At first, I didn't like the idea of learning from him, but as he continued to explain, I became more open to the idea, and realized that his skills was what I was going to need to rescue my brother. It wasn't because of his other jobs or his preferences, but because of what he said before we began to spar that changed my mind.

We had been going down to a practice field, walking slowly so that he could try to explain everything to me. After telling me his role in assassinating important generals (while grumbling under his breath about being given false credit of a general he didn't actually kill), I went silent, not knowing how to respond. He noticed my silence, then stopped walking and looked at me.

"Look kid, I know the idea of taking another life is difficult, but sometimes it just needs to be done. Personally, if you can find a way that you know for certain will take out a target without killing them, go for it. But sometimes, a job is a job, and there will be dragons in your way to stop you from completing it. Just remember two things; One, that killing isn't always necessary, but can't always be avoided. Two, never let anything stop you from doing what needs to be done."

I looked at the ground and nodded, and I could hear him sigh before sitting down. He patted the spot next to him, in which I went over and sat next to him. We were silent for a moment before he spoke up. "Look...Spark, was it? We don't always get to decide what happens in life. However, we can always choose to do what we think is necessary. Think about it this way: think of a single goal in life, one that can't be fully fulfilled but can also be done at the same time. Now tell me that goal." He said, looking at me.

I thought for a moment, before answering. "I want to protect my brother, no matter what it takes." Scorpion nodded, as if he was expecting as much.

"That's a good goal. However, there might be dragons willing to hurt or even kill your brother, or even you if you try to get to him. So I must ask you, what are you going to do when those dragons stand in your way?" He asked, looking up at the ceiling.

I nodded, now understanding what he meant. "I would do anything to get them out of my way, and make sure they don't hurt my brother." Once more, Scorpion nodded. "But's what's your reason? Why do you do this?" I asked him, curious now.

Scorpion tensed up for a sliver of a moment, but recovered quickly, then raised a hand to his chin in thinking. "Hm, well, right now I guess don't really have one. Heh, it's funny when I make an example and can't even use it." He looked at the ground, shaking his head with a grin, but somehow I could just tell he was lying. However, before I could ask about it, Scorpion got up, then spoke up. "Come on then. Now that you're inspired and all, let's do some combat training."

As we continued to spar, since hands-on was Scorpion's favorite way of training, I thought of Jack, and knew I had to save him. I had promised him I would, all those years ago, and I wouldn't let anyone stop me.

As Scorpion went to do another jab, I quickly fainted to the left, in which he did a tail swipe, which was what I was hoping for. As his tail came at me, I quickly grabbed the end of it, sinking my talons into the soft spot (the same soft spot I learned that all dragons had after Scorpion demonstrated on me at the beginning of sparring).

Scorpion gritted his teeth, turning towards me with claws raised, but I quickly released my other hand in his face, letting out a handful of sand into his eyes. He shouted out, in which i quickly used my tail to knock a leg out from under him, and as he fell, I quickly jumped up to pin him down.

I managed it, and for a moment, we laid there, with him rubbing out the sand in his eyes. He looked up at me and grinned. "Well alright, that was a nice move, but let me tell you, I was just going easy on you." He quickly rolled over, knocking me down and leaving him pinning me. "However, I am much larger than you, so pinning me isn't exactly going to work. Also, I only pretended that the sand worked. I'm a Sandwing, so I have natural defence against sand in my eyes."

As he finished explaining, he got off me and reached down to let me up, in which I took his hand and stood up. "Alright, so that's probably good sparring for today. Now, onto your first test." He said, in which I looked surprised at the aspect of a test this early on in my training.

Scorpion pointed to a tent across the cavern, which stood out from the other tents since it was much larger and was brown instead of tan. "That over there is the supply tent. Inside it you will find a large brown bag and a small safe. What you need to do is acquire the bag and the contents of the safe."

"However, doing this won't be that simple. The tent is guarded by a big brute of a Sandwing named Sandstone. If he catches you, you can guarantee that he'll kick you out immediately, if he doesn't accidentally kill you thinking you're an intruder." I gulped at that, in which Scorpion laughed. "Don't worry, I was just joking. Blister made sure everyone here knows who you are, but then again, Sandstone isn't exactly the brightest, so anything could happen."

"Now, the reason I'm sending you on this test is to see how you'll do it. There are many different strategies you could take, and I want to see what your abilities are. Also, if you do manage to get the bag, you'll be able to keep it's contents, which will aid your training. This test will not have a time limit, but I must tell you that every time you fail it will get harder to succeed, as Sandstone will become more paranoid of what you are trying to get."

I nodded, in which I left Scorpion to acquire what I needed to get. He sent me off with a "Good luck.", and I certainly felt like I was going to need it.

 _Meanwhile, in the Rainwing Kingdom…_

I blinked my eyes open slowly, greeted by the smells of the rainforest, but in an unfamiliar setting. I found myself in some kind of building, but everything was green from plantlife. I looked down to find myself on a stretcher, and as I looked around, I saw several others around, with a few other dragons that I recognized as Rainwings on them, though they didn't look that bad.

The place was very quiet, with many flowers around creating a beautiful color and aroma. As I continued to look around, I saw a group of light blue Rainwings gathered together in a corner, whispering to each other. As I looked at them, one of them saw my look, and quickly excused herself from the group and walked towards me.

She was about normal sized compared to other dragons I had seen so far, and had a scar going down her left hind leg. She had brown eyes, and as she came closer, I could make out that her blue color was slightly more vibrant than the other Rainwings, and she looked like she was about to laugh at something. When she got to me, she spoke up, breaking the silence of the room.

"Well, you finally woke up, mysterious dragon. I must say, since you got here, you've been looking _under the weather_ , but we've been doing everything we can to try to make you feel better." I blinked at her, honestly wondering if I really heard her make that joke. At the look of her giggling self, I could only guess yes.

"Well thank you then. Though I must say, looking around, it is quite _shocking_ as to where I am." I said, letting out a small bolt against my hand to prove my point. The dragon stared in fascination at my lightning, then a grin crossed her face as she burst out laughing.

"Oh, I get it! Shocking, since you breath lightning! That's not only really cool but really clever!" She said. As she calmed down, she held out a hand. "My name is Aster, though you can just call me Singularity." She said. I looked at her confusedly before shaking her hand.

"Aren't nicknames supposed to be shorter than the original name? No offence though." I said, in which she nodded.

"Normally, yes, but my nickname makes so much more sense! I mean, I love the stars, and I'm so much different from the everyone else! I mean, there's a war going on just outside of our forest, but will anyone do anything about it? Noooo, cause then that would require *gasp* _moving and effort!"_ She said sarcastically.

I cocked my head, not sure how to make out this unusual dragon or what she was saying. Sure, the Rainwings I knew weren't part of the war, but were they really doing it just because they were being lazy? Before I could ask about this, Singularity spoke up again.

"Anyways, as I was saying before, we looked at your wound, though we don't really know what to do about it. We're trying a few different remedies we know of, though none of them seems to be working against this specific type of wound. Hopefully something will work, but until we find the right cure, well, we don't exactly know what to do."

I nodded, knowing that this could happen. "Well, at the very least you tried. Now, do you know where my friends are? The dragons that were with me when I came here?" I asked her.

She thought for a second, before somehow managing to snap her claws, which I didn't think was possible. "They're all on a large platform east from here, and since you've woken up, they'll probably be awake soon as well." I nodded, making my way to get up, but she quickly got to my side and pushed me back down.

"Could you please let me up? I need to go to my friends so that they know where I am and know that I'm safe." I told her, but in response she just shook her head and pushed me back down as I tried to get up once more.

"Sorry, can't let you do that, at least not with that wound of yours. You're just going to have to wait until your friends come to you, and I'm going to stay right here to make sure you do just that." As she said that, she grabbed my wrists with surprising strength, holding me down. I sighed, knowing that I had to rest anyway, and figured it would just be better to not argue with the doctor.

"Well, at the very least can we talk? I hate just sitting in silence for long periods of time." She nodded, but agreed to it under the condition we could ask questions back and forth. I nodded, agreeing to it, in which we began to talk for about half an hour.

During that time, we talked about one topic to another. Where as I explained the basics of what I had already explained to others many times before, such as what and who I was, along with questions about my adventure so far, I got to learn more about Singularity herself.

As she had mentioned before, she was different from the other Rainwings in many ways. Whereas many of them were very pacifistic and lazy (not to mention vegetarians), she was always looking for adventure, and was willing to fight if necessary, though didn't like it herself. The only reason she was here as a nurse instead of doing what she thought was a more exciting job was because she had been punished by one of the Queens (in which they have turns of who is Queen), due to how she had made the wrong joke at the wrong time.

As we continued to talk, our conversation was halted by a few familiar dragons, who scanned the room before spotting me and coming over. Of them, there was just Sunny and Glory, but I could see Tsunami's, Clay's and Starflight's faces sticking in from the doorway. Sunny quickly came over to me, wrapping me in a hug.

I returned the hug, asking them what happened. Sunny told me we were in the Rainwing kingdom, after being knocked out for a few hours by sleeping darts, and the only ones who hadn't been hit were Glory and Starflight. After that, Glory filled in what had happened afterwards, and confirmed that the Rainwings were lazy.

As she continued to talk, she mentioned how the venom wasn't a weapon, but was instead a way of telling who is related to who, and how she had learned she had a brother. I smiled at that, in which my smile grew as she described how he was almost the polar opposite of her.

As we talked, they explained how they were just about to go see the Queen, in which I nodded and went to get up again. I was stopped by two different pairs of hands this time, with both Singularity and Sunny holding me down this time. "You can't just go with us Static, you have to rest!" Sunny told me. I sighed, lying back down and accepting my fate.

"Well, be sure to come back here when you're done. Sure, Singularity here is fun and all, but I still want to stay informed as to what is going on." Sunny nodded, before turning to Singularity and thanking her for taking care of me. She told her how it was no problem, then commented on Sunny's eyes. As they chatted, with Glory rolling her eyes, telling me to get better, then grabbing Sunny as she headed towards the door, I felt like Sunny and Singularity would be good friends, seeing as how they were still talking as Glory dragged Sunny out the door.

As they left, Singularity came back over to me, sitting back down in front of me. "Well, they sure seem nice! Now, let's see, I think it was my turn for a question." As we continued talking, I realized that I had forgotten to tell the dragonets what I ad learned about the Rainwings, especially about how they had more than one Queen.

Anyhow, Singularity and I continued talking, and we learned more about each other. As she learned about how I was similar to her in my views on violence, I learned about her fascination with the stars and how she didn't overly like Mudwings, due to how once while on guard duty, she had ran into one who mistakenly attacked her, which is why she had a scar on her leg.

As we talked, I couldn't help but feel like something was going to go wrong soon. As Singularity went to explain why she was so "awesome", I felt like this was just too perfect. Sure, they didn't have a cure for my wound, but we were in a peaceful village with no signs of the war, and with none of our enemies knowing where we were. So as I began to think, I began to wonder, and by the time it was my turn to ask a question, I couldn't help but wonder when things were going to go wrong…

 **Author's Note: Hey there everyone, thank you so much for reading and for your support. Once more, I must apologize for this chapter being late, but at least it is up, and the next chapter should be up on it's normal time this next Wednesday. I would like to thank for the submission of the OC's, such as Singularity here in this chapter. Once more, I apologize for the darker chapter, at least the beginning, but now you know why Jack and Sara have such different beliefs on violence. Anyhow, thank you for reading and all of your support, and the next chapter will be up on time.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

After I had talked with Singularity for a bit longer, the dragonets eventually came back. Well, when i say the dragonets, I actually mean Sunny, who had fulfilled her promise in coming back to tell me what was going on.

Sunny told me about their meeting with the Queen, along with the dragonet's surprise at the fact of their multiple Queen system. Apparently, the current Queen, Queen Magnificent, was interested in the dragonets at first, but at the first question that involved work, she quickly grew bored and uninterested. At this, Singularity giggled.

"That's Magnificent for you, all right." She said. "The only time she's willing to actually do something is when you go against her word, or…" She stated, looking around with a grin on her face, "When you make a joke about how no one would notice if her and her pet sloth swapped places."

Sunny suppressed a giggle while I rolled my eyes, now understanding how Singularity got here. Afterwards, Sunny continued about how now the dragonets were going to go investigate a mystery going on, which involved the disappearance of some of the Rainwings.

"I thought there were less dragons around!" Singularity spoke up. "I have been finding it a bit easier to get to a few sun time spots lately. Guess that's why." At my blank look, she looked embarrassed. Sun time for Rainwings is a daily nap that gives them energy from the sun. "Look, I don't get out of here other than sun time, alright?" She said, trying to defend herself.

I let it go, then let Sunny continue. "And that's basically what's happening now. Now that we know what's going on, and since you're being taken care of here, we're going to follow Mangrove, the dragon that noticed that Rainwings were disappearing, to the last place he saw one of them."

I nodded. "Alright, sounds like a plan. Let's go." Just like before, i didn't even make it a foot off the bed before I was being restrained. I sighed, then looked at the two.. "I take it you have no plans on me going on this adventure?" At their looks, I could only guess the answer was yes. "Come on, what will the readers think if all I'm doing is just lying here in bed this whole time?"

At that statement, I was given two strange looks while I chuckled to myself. "Nevermind that. However, if you really are going to go looking for missing Rainwings, with the cause of it most likely the cause of those two dead Mudwings earlier, all i can say is please stay safe Sunny."

Sunny gave me a soft smile, meanwhile letting go of me and choosing to hug me instead. "Don't worry Jack." She whispered in my ear. "We'll be safe. After all, the prophecy can't happen if we're dead." She let go but continued talking. "You focus on getting yourself better instead of protecting us, alright? I'm sure everything will be all right."

When she said that, I felt my stomach tighten, the uneasy feeling coming back, but I shrugged it off, meanwhile forcing a smile. "Alright, see you soon then. Be sure to visit when you're done, and bring some of the others with you next time." Sunny nodded before waving and then taking out the door.

I stared at the door for a moment, wondering how I was going to be able to follow her. I knew that Singularity wasn't going to allow me to leave, so I was going to have to figure out a way to distract her. "Hey, Singularity, is there anything to eat around here? I haven't eaten since, you know, I was knocked out." I said.

Singularity grinned at me. "Yeah, sure, just give me a minute. I know where some of the best fruit is around here, so I'll be right back." And with that, Singularity walked over to the other dragons in the corner, talked with them for a second, then went out the door. The other Rainwing nurses looked at me for a moment, but then soon went back to chattering.

I knew this was going to be my only opportunity, so while they looked away, I closed my wings as close to me as possible, then flung myself out the open window. After I had, I realised I hadn't landed on a platform, and was instead falling through the trees. I quickly opened my wings, stopping my fall, but meanwhile sending a fresh jolt of pain from my wound.

I grimaced, but ignored it, focusing instead on trying to figure out which way the dragonets went. After looking around for a second, I saw in the distance Sunny's tail, going away from the village. I quickly beat my wings, sending myself that way.

As I flew, I knew I had to keep my distance and manage to stay quiet at the same time, but both tasks were quite difficult, due to the amount of branches that were in my way. I eventually came to a strategy of keeping my wings close to me, then hopping from one branch to the next quickly.

This strategy mostly worked, though I still crashed into a few branches, sending leaves and various animals fleeing. I knew that I was heading in the right direction though and I hadn't been found out yet, due to how I could still occasionally see the flicker of the dragonet's scales in the distance. I could only hope I wasn't following a oddly colored Rainwing though, because if I was, it would be impossible to find the dragonets by now.

Thankfully, my luck pulled through, and after going through the forest for some time, the dragonets finally stopped in a clearing. I stopped high in the canopy a few trees away, just watching them from a distance. With them were two male Rainwings (though it took me a moment to recognize that one was male, since he was pure pink), and they appeared to be looking around the clearing and talking to each other, as if they were searching for clues.

The clearing was beautiful, with a stream, several flowers and rocks, but something about it felt… strange. As I watched, I saw a wrinkle cross Starflight's snout, as if he smelt something terrible. After talking to the others, the normal colored male Rainwing seemed to go white for a moment before they parted once more, this time with the majority following Starflight.

I watched as they began to head towards the stream, though due to a large rock, I couldn't see what they were looking at. I heard a small commotion, and then they began talking normally again. Since I was so far away, I couldn't hear what they were talking about, so I slowly moved from one tree to the next, making my way over to get a better look.

As I moved, I had to stop several times, usually when a branch decided to try to snap under me or some kind of animal decided I was on it's favorite branch and tried to alert the whole Rainforest about it. Thankfully, I managed to get over to a better angle without anyone seeming to notice me, and I went back to watching what the dragonets were doing.

Currently, they were all surrounding a rock, though I did see a small grey pile by them that was covered with leaves and swarming with flies. I ignored it as the thing that had startled them, and went back to looking at what they were staring at. At first, I didn't see anything, just the dragonets surrounding a rock. However, as Clay shifted, I could see a darkness, like a hole, and I suddenly had a really bad feeling.

As they stared at the hole in the rock, Glory suddenly turned away from them and began to fly up to me. I nearly gave away my position from that, but after a moment, I noticed that she was just going to a shorter tree close to me, and was struggling to grab some vines. After a small struggle, they came free, and she took them to the other dragonets.

They talked to each other for a few minutes, then began wrapping Glory and Clay in the vines. Once that was finished, the two of them walked towards the hole, and I was startled to find that it was deep enough for them to walk _into_ it, which didn't make sense due to how the rock ended shortly on the other side.

After they had gone in, there was a view minutes of silence, with the other dragonets and the pink Rainwing talking to each other, though the other male Rainwing was nowhere to be seen. As the vines continued to go into the tunnel, they suddenly stopped moving, and then stayed that way for a few minutes.

After the vines had stopped moving, Glory and Clay came out a few minutes later, both wearing bewildered expressions as they hastily talked to the other dragonets. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, though while they did, a burst of colors suddenly appeared and then rushed past the dragonets and into the tunnel.

The dragonets were surprised at first, and then after talking to each other for a moment, they began to go into the tunnel as well. As they went in, with Sunny going last as she took one last glance around, they were gone, leaving me alone in the forest. I waited a few minutes, then flew down to the tunnel.

When I landed, I quickly looked at the mystery lump (which sounds like something served at a cafeteria), but quickly looked away, disgusted to find that it was a practically rotting dead sloth (which might also be in cafeteria food, for all I know. Wait, why am I thinking about cafeteria food?) I quickly shook my head, then turned towards the tunnel.

The feeling I had from looking at the tunnel was even worse here, as if this tunnel was not supposed to even exist, but I pushed it off and went into the tunnel. As I walked, it became extremely dark, but I didn't dare to light the way, due to how I might alert the dragonets. However, that decision soon lead me into nearly tripping the whole way, but after walking for a bit, I eventually saw a light.

As I followed the light, i soon noticed it begin to become hotter and dryer, and as I emerged into the light, I soon noticed a sudden lack of trees and an abundance of sand. As I looked around in confusion, I realised I was in a desert, complete with cactus, a fortress in the distance with disembodied heads on it's walls, and scorpions.

I blanched at that second one, but quickly shook it off and looked for the dragonets. For a moment, I was afraid I had lost them, but once more I caught a flicker of light in the sky, and soon found the dragonets (and the pink Rainwing) flying to the North.

I felt a sudden pain from my side, and as I looked down I saw the thunder clouds in my scales begin to surge forwards for a moment, before stopping. As the pain passed, I shook my head. The dragonets were in the open once more, and I had to make sure that they stayed safe. As I opened my wings to follow them, I thought about my wound, and how it had reached my arm.

Just how much time did I have left?

 _Meanwhile, at Blister's base…_

As I made my way towards the armory tent, I realised that I absolutely had no plan. This test was to examine my abilities, but all I really knew was self defense, and if Sandstone was really as big as Scorpion described, I didn't exactly think that would work.

I couldn't use stealth, due to how it was day and everybody was about, and my scales stood out. I could try to deceive him, but since I was knew here, that would be risky. I could just run in, grab the goods, and run out, but that had the problem of grabbing the wrong thing and easily getting caught.

As I finally reached the tent, an idea finally crossed my head, and I decided that it was my best option. I quickly opened my wings, then flew to the top of the tent. When I reached it, I found the central pole and hovered above it, and thankfully enough, there was a hole around it that I could use to peer into the tent.

As I looked into the tent from above, I could see several things of interest. Armors of all sizes lined one wall, and an assortment of weapons, primarily spears, lined another. After searching for a moment, I soon came across a brown bag, about the size of my back leg, which was tossed in the far corner of the tent. That would make it easy to get, but I also needed the safe, so I kept searching.

After a moment, I finally came across it, along with the brute of a Sandwing that was Sandstone. He was gigantic, possible the largest dragon I had seen so far, and had large muscles all over him, along with an assortment of battle scars, each with their own story of a battle fought. The safe lay under a table at his feet, in which he took a large hammer and beat at a thing of armor, but I couldn't tell if he was removing dents or putting in new ones.

After watching for a moment, I realised that it would be nearly impossible to get to the safe unless he left, which still left the trouble of getting it open. As I looked closer, I realised where the key was, which was a matching silver key that was strapped to Sandstone's neck, making it impossible to get. As he continued to beat at the armor, a plan came to my mind, and I soon went to carry it out.

I first flew down to the corner where the bag sat, which thankfully was out of Sandstone's eyesight. I held up a claw, and slowly began tearing a clean strip into the tent, large enough that it would allow the bag through. As I tore strand after strand of the tent, I could only hope that Sandstone didn't notice until it was too late.

Eventually, I had torn enough that the bag fell through, and I grabbed it before it landed on the ground. I quickly removed it, then, with the bag now in my claws, I flew over to some barrels, putting the bag behind them. I then flew over to the other side of the tent, and then began the next part of my plan.

I got a few looks from passing Sandwings as I pushed against the side of the tent, trying to topple the weapons rack. I eventually came to the conclusion that it was too heavy, and tried to think of a way to change my clan.

After a bit of thinking, an idea finally came to mind, and I flew up to the top of the tent, then gave it a firm wrack with my tail. As I did so, I could hear a clamor inside the tent as several spears fell over, along with the hammering of armor stopping. This was my opportunity, so I quickly flew to the other side of the tent where I had torn the tent.

When I got there, I looked into the tent from the opening. Inside, I could see Sandstone moving to go outside, grumbling underneath his breath. I waited for a second, making sure he was completely outside of the tent, then went in through the hole. I hastily made my way over to the safe, then looked it over closely.

When I got to it, I saw that it was a solid steel safe, with a handle and a simple keyhole. It was square, and not too large compared to me, and I could probably move it. I looked around, trying to see if there was another key that i hadn't noticed, but after a second of looking, I realised that the only one was around Sandstone's neck.

Before I could come up with a new plan of how to open the safe, Sandstone entered the tent, and as soon as he did, he stopped, proceeding to stare at me. We stared each other for about five seconds before anger crossed his face and he shouted "THIEF!", in which he began charging at me. Due to how large he was, I knew I wasn't going to win a fight, so I did the only thing I could: I grabbed the safe and flew for the hole.

Even though I was pretty fast, my wings flapping to propel me even further, the safe was still weighing me down, and I could hear Sandstone's footsteps right behind me. However, luck was in my favor, and I quickly jumped through the hole, which was too small for Sandstone to follow me through, which stopped him for a second as he crashed into the tent.

I quickly went over to the barrels, grabbing the bag and hefting it over one shoulder, while keeping the safe tucked under my other arm. However, in the time that it took me to do so, Sandstone tore through the tent, his gaze landing on me and the contents I held, which caused his glare to increase.

"So, you're working for Scorpion, eh? Well, let me tell you girlie, if you return what you stole now, I promise I'll only hurt you a little, instead of just flat out murdering you." I quickly took off, hoping I could get away by flying. "Looks like we're going to do it the fun way!" I heard behind me, along with massive wingbeats.

I looked behind me, seeing Sandstone quickly catching up to me. Technically, I should have been much faster than him since I was in the sky, and it turned out I was faster than most Sandwings, but I was still being weighed down, and he was also larger than the average dragon. However, I wasn't in the mood to die, and since we were in a cave, I decided to use that to my advantage.

I quickly flew up to the roof, where there were several stalactites hanging from the ceiling. I carefully made my way into them, hoping it would give me the maneuvering advantage to escape from him. However, this wasn't the case, as I looked behind me and saw him _smashing_ his way through the stalactites. This only gave me more initiative to move faster, but he was catching up quickly.

Of course, falling pieces of rock in a cave that held a major army camp was starting to cause a commotion below, and I could only hope that soldiers would show up in time to stop him. However, at this thought, I realized that that would lead to me getting caught, since I was the one that stole from Sandstone, and I realised I had to get out of there.

As soon as Sandstone was nearly caught up to me, I let my wings close into me, allowing me to freefall down to the ground below. Thankfully, there had been a stalactite between me and him then, and just as I had hoped, as I stared up at the ceiling, I could see him continuing to make his way through the stones, trying to find me.

I quickly turned back over, then glided over to where I had last seen Scorpion. As I landed on the training yard, I saw Sandwings running everywhere, many in a frenzy, some even thinking they were under attack. As I watched in wonder, I held a hand grasp my shoulder, and as I turned, I saw it was Scorpion. He was wearing a serious expression, and said one word, "Come." He then turned and started walking, so I followed him.

We walked through the camp, and saw several tents with holes in them, along with stones scattered everywhere on the ground. As we walked, we eventually came up to a single tent that was away from the rest, which had somehow avoided any damage. Scorpion held the tent flap open, then ushered me inside, in which I complied.

The tent was dark, lit by a single lamp. There were maps, weapon racks with an assortment of weapons, from daggers to circular disks that looked sharp, and a wall that had pictures of dragons on them, though some were crossed out. Scorpion walked behind a desk, then sat down. "Set the bag in front of the table and the safe on top of it." He said, in which I continued to do so. Once I had, he pointed in front of the desk. "Sit." And I did.

As I sat, Scorpion pulled out a small case, then pulled out some thin metal tools, in which he inserted them into the safe. After a minute, there was a click, in which he removed the tools and swung the safe open, after a moment, he sighed in what sounded like relief, then looked at me. He stared at me for a minute in silence before bursting out in laughter, which made me look at him in confusing.

"Oh, you are an interesting dragon, that's for sure!" He said while still laughing. "I can't believe you actually took the whole safe! And then you proceeded to destroy almost half the camp! I do admit, that was a beautiful strategy due to your current knowledge and if you wanted to leave behind chaos after your job was done." He stopped laughing at this point, but looked serious once more.

"Alright, even though many of these blockheads deserved that, you still managed to destroy a few tents, and even a few injuries were recorded. Blister is not going to be happy at all." He looked on for a second, before shrugging. "Of course, I've faced her wrath many times myself, and since you're my student I'll probably be the one getting yelled at either way. But since he was the one that did the damage, Sandstone is probably going to get the blunt of it."

I decided now was the time to speak up. "Yeah, i didn't mean to do any damage, but I didn't exactly expect him to _smash through the rocks_. By the way, what was so important that you needed that he was willing to kill me because of it?" I asked.

Scorpion grinned, before reaching into the safe and pulling out a large sack. "Well, first there is the earnings of the last poker game, which he won after kicking me out for cheating. I decided it was time to collect my rightful earnings." He then reached into it and pulled out a bottle wrapped in dried leaves. "And this beauty is dragonfruit rainforest river wine, back from the days the Rainwings actually made exports. I got this confiscated by Sandstone during that same poker match, and wanted to finish it. I'm just glad he didn't drink it himself."

I was giving Scorpion a deadpan look. "I risked my life to collect your stuff from a poker match you were removed from?" I asked blankly. Scorpion grinned and laughed again, before pointing to the bag.

"Not quite, though it was a plus. No, your main objective was the bag, and more importantly, its contents. Go ahead, open it up." He said. I looked at it for a moment before reaching forward and pulling the bag open.

Inside of it was an assortment of items. The major things was a set of what appeared to be leather armor colored black. Then there were a few daggers, along with a smaller bag which had those strange disks in it. There was also a kit that looked a lot like the one that Scorpion had that held his lockpicking gear, and a few other items. After I had removed everything, Scorpion reached over, then undid a strap on the bag, which made it open up to reveal that it was actually a large cloak, which was colored brown on one side, black on the other.

Scorpion walked over to me, in which he put his hand on my shoulder again. "Your official training starts tomorrow. Go find an empty tent, go over everything, such as figuring out how to wear it all at once, and we'll begin the training then." He turned around and went to exit the tent. "I'm going to go clean up your mess, so don't bother looking for me. Welcome to the career of a thief and assassin, kid."

As I stared at the gear, I could only feel a shimmer of excitement, having passed my first trial. However, I knew that there was only more to come.

 _Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Rainwing Kingdom…_

"I can't believe that Static would go out and follow his friends while injured like that!" I shouted to no one in particular, since I was by myself. I could feel my scales turning red as I followed the sign of dragons crashing through branches, in the direction that him and his friends had went.

I had come back with an assortment of various fruit that Static could try, just to find an empty bed. I quickly turned to the other nurses, but as usual, they were only paying attention to themselves and not the patients, and so he had escaped. After that, I left the hut, asking several dragons if anyone had seen where he went. I eventually came across one dragon that had seen him follow Mangrove and his friends, in which I went to follow them.

As I made my way through the forest, I eventually came across a clearing that had a stream. As I landed on the ground, I could see several different shaped tracks in the mud, and decided to follow them, seeing as how it was probably him and his friends. As I followed the tracks, I noticed a terrible smell in the air, and as I looked up, I saw a leaf pile that contained a dead sloth, surrounded by flies.

I looked away, barely stopping myself from vomiting. What could do such a thing to a sloth? Normally, predators just ate any they got and didn't leave anything like… that. I shook my head, deciding to ignore the pore sloth and to try to find Static.

As I followed the tracks, I eventually had a weird feeling come across my scales, and as I looked up, seeing the trail just lead into a rock, I noticed that there was a tunnel in the rock. I looked at it in confusion, never even having seen such a thing, even though I explored the rainforest a lot. However, the tracks led into the tunnel, and I figured that that was wear Static had gone.

"I swear Static, when I find you, I'm going to drag you back to that bed and force you to stay there until you're better, even if I have to tie you down." I grumbled under my breath, more red boiling up and over my scales. And that was the last thing I saw before I felt a pain in the back of my head, and everything went black.

 _Meanwhile, on the border of the Sandwing and Icewing Kingdoms…_

I had been following the dragonets for some time now, and had landed a distance behind them as they took a break. We were currently in what could be described as a tundra, with trees few and far between, and it was beginning to become colder. I had so far been able to avoid detection, my scales giving me the perfect camouflage in the sky.

As we flew North, I could only wonder what was currently going on. So far, there were disappearing Rainwings, murdered Mudwings, a mystery tunnel, along with monkeys that began to mysteriously start screaming, which had nearly scared all of us when we first entered the rainforest. None of it was adding up, and somehow I still felt like it was all connected.

I knew one thing for certain, and that was that the dragonets were heading towards the Icewings, which could lead them to even more danger. From what I had heard, they were in the pure North, and if they were captured, I could only imagine that they would freeze to death. I began to wonder where they were headed, and what they were expecting to find up here.

As I pondered this, I felt a shiver cross my spine, and I looked towards where we had come from. For a moment, I felt like something bad had just happened, and it was my fault. As I stared into the distance, I quickly shook my head, hoping that it was nothing.

And yet, as I continued to to fly after the dragonets later, I couldn't shake the feeling from my mind.

 **Author's note: Welcome back to another chapter, and thank you all for your understanding last week! Thankfully, this chapter is on time, just like I promised, and there shouldn't be an occurrence like before again, at least not until late July, but I'll explain that then. Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and next week's is going to be very...interesting, to say the least. Let's just say I already have a good idea, and it's going to be fun to write. Anyways, I'm currently in my last week of school, which will be giving me even more time to write, so woot! Either way, thank you all so much for your support in this story so far. By the way, I am looking for art if anyone can draw a better picture for the cover, and if you have any ideas for the story, be sure to tell me! Anyhow, thank you all so much for reading, and be sure to read the next chapter next week.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

As the night broke into day, with a thin frost covering the grass, I stretched my aching bones. I hadn't slept well that night, not being used to being so cold and alone. As I began to move to hopefully get my blood going, I hoped that I had woken up early enough to check on the dragonets before they started moving again.

After spending enough time making sure I could properly fly, I opened my wings and moved to get into the few clouds that hung overhead. I winced as I flew, the pain in my side more prominent today than before, but I knew I would have to push it off for a bit longer. When I was fully camouflaged in the clouds, I looked down, trying to find the camp that they had set up the night before.

While searching, I found three different points of interest. First of all was a large stone fortress, which had smoke coming out of it, meanwhile Sandwings stood around inside. Another interest was a small camp set up a ways away, with a small fire and what looked like a Nightwing trying to warm himself up. Finally, I had found the dragonet's camp, however, as I watched, I saw Glory sneak out of the cave and begin heading towards the Nightwing.

As I watched her, making sure that nothing bad would happen, Glory changed her scales to be a pale blue and white, taking the appearance of an Icewing. As she reached the Nightwing, he stopped and looked surprised for a moment, before seeming to act calmly.

I cocked my head, wondering what a Nightwing was doing alone out here, and could only hope that he didn't realize that Glory was actually a Rainwing, and not an Icewing. I had been told about Glory's less than pleasant meeting with Morrowseer, along with his plans to have her killed. If the Nightwing found out who she was, then there could be problems.

However, my worry wasn't needed. The two of them talked for some time, looking as if they were having a casual conversation (except for Glory, who was appearing to be more hostile and defensive at first). After a time, Glory left in the opposite direction of the dragonet's camp, with the Nightwing following her with his eyes. As soon as she was out of sight, she turned to start heading back to camp. I watched the Nightwing for a bit, but after seeing he was just back to trying to warm himself up once more, I decided to go back to watching the dragonets.

As I looked back at their cave, at an angle in which I could see partly into it, I saw a quick movement inside the cave when Glory entered while still disguised, but as soon as she turned back it settled down. From what I could tell, they were talking, and since I didn't want to risk getting found by getting too close, I decided now was a perfect time to go find something to eat.

After about an hour of searching the barren tundra for food, I eventually found some blueberries and went back to check on the dragonets. As I got over them, I saw two dragons that looked like Icewings leave the cave, and after a moment of panic, I realized it was just Glory and the other Rainwing.

As I watched the two of them fly, I noticed that they were heading towards the base with the Sandwings. I decided to slowly make my way towards it as well, hoping I could follow them if I was right and they were planning on sneaking inside. When they reached the gate, they quickly camouflaged themselves when a guard looked outside suddenly. After a moment, he went back in, in which the two of them went back to their disguises.

For a moment, the two of them talked to each other, then Glory yelled out to the soldiers. The soldier from before stuck his head out again, and began to talk to them. After a minute, Glory looked surprised for a moment, but shook it off quickly. The gate began to open, and the two of them went inside, the door closing with them.

As I flew towards the roof, I found on top what looked like a door down, which was neatly buried under a fresh layer of snow. I brushed the snow away with my tail, wondering why they didn't just sneak in this way, or if they just hadn't seen it, but either way, I decided to use it myself. I opened the door slowly, and when it was lifted enough, I saw that it was a storage attic, and with no one apparent, I snuck inside.

In the attic was not what I was expecting from a fort in the cold north, but rather items I would find in the desert. There were all sorts of items that looked like they came from there, ranging from many dried foods, such as lizards, cactuses, and much more. If anything, I could only guess that the Sandwings were the only ones here, and were probably trying to make this place more like home. I shrugged it off however, deciding to continue moving.

As I made my way through the dark, torchlight suddenly appeared, and I quickly hid behind some boxes. As I stood there, silently hoping that whoever was there would just pass, my luck finally failed me, and a Sandwing began to walk past me. He looked to be a normal soldier, and as he grumbled something about having to always grab the food, his eyes locked onto me, and we both just stared at each other for a moment in silence, neither knowing what to do.

Thankfully, I broke out of the silence before he did, and I quickly moved forward, hitting him straight in the throat. He tried to yell out, but the punch kept him from speaking. His tail quickly rushed out to defend him though, and since I didn't want to have a matching wound, I quickly threw another punch, and as I put all of my force behind it, it connected with his head right as his tail went in for a strike. It stopped halfway as he dropped to the ground, unconscious.

I needed to act quickly, and I dragged him into a far corner, taking what looked like rugs and piling them over him, making him invisible to anyone that might come up here. I knew I was wasting time, but I had to come up with a way to sneak around. However, as I looked around, I saw a few cloaks, and I soon had an idea.

As I made my way down the stairs, wrapped up in several cloaks, the soldier's armor, and a desert facewrap, I could only hope that my disguise would work. However, as I passed a few soldiers, several of which who were also wrapped up in several blankets, I knew my plan had worked. I slowly started exploring the castle, and when I had enough courage, I even asked a guard if he had seen two Icewings go by, in which he pointed me to the throne room without a single thought.

Man, they really need to work on their security.

I continued to make my way towards the throne room, though I did take my time looking around. The place was more decorated with paintings than any other place I had been to so far, and had many scenes depicting the desert, and as I passed a few guards just staring at the pictures, I knew now just how badly they missed their home, and I could probably relate better than anyone.

When I finally reached the throne room, I arrived just in time to find Glory, the other Rainwing, and a Sandwing wrapped in a fur blanket about to leave. As Glory and the Sandwing began walking, the other Rainwing quickly moved over to a pile of sand and grabbed what at first looked like nothing, but soon turned out to be another Rainwing. As they walked past me, I could see Glory giving me a suspicious look before passing, and I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

After they had gotten a head start, I turned around, beginning to follow them. After walking and talking for a bit, Glory stopped at a room, quickly grabbing something from inside while the Sandwing wasn't looking. She quickly hid one under her wing, handing the other to the Rainwing, and as it was passed, I realized it was a human. They weren't resisting, and I could only pray that Glory was planning on freeing them and not eating them.

When they got outside, I tried following them, but was stopped by a guard. "Where do you think you are going?" He asked me. I froze, not knowing what to do for a second, before an idea popped into my head.

"I am here to inform you that someone went missing a few hours ago." I said. "He was last seen going into the storage room up above, but noone has seen him since. I was about to do a sweep outside to see if I could find him out there." As I finished, I crossed my talons, hoping he would buy it.

Thankfully, after the screw up before, luck was on my side once more. "Alright then, just be sure not to go too far out. And while you're at it, keep an eye on the her majesty as she follows the Icewings. For some reason, I have a bad feeling about them. I'm going to go search the attic for any clues about that soldier you mentioned." With that, he walked away, and I safely made it outside.

As the gate closed behind me, I could see the two scavengers from before running away into the hills, but just from looking at them I could tell that they would freeze to death if they didn't have anything to aid them. So as I opened my wings and began flying once more, I dropped the face wraps I had over top of them, and then flew towards the sky. As I looked back, I could see the two grab the fabric, wrapping themselves in it before continuing to run.

That out of the way, I continued flying high in the sky, meanwhile following the three Rainwings and the Sandwing who turned out to be the third princess, Blaze. If I had remembered correctly, she was supposed to be completely useless, only caring about her beauty. From what I had heard in the halls while following them, I could only guess this was correct, and I began to wonder if any of the three sisters should even be the next Queen if they were all such poor choices.

After flying for a bit, they finally reached the dragonet's base. As I watched Glory go into the cave to get the others, I looked to check on the Nightwing, and was surprised to see him missing. As I thought about where he could have gone, the dragonets appeared before Blaze, and Glory and the two Rainwings revealed themselves. Blaze looked surprised, but recovered quickly, and it looked like she was happy to see them.

As they began to talk, with several points and confused expressions towards Glory and the two Rainwings, I could only guess she was asking about why they were even there, if the bit of red appearing on Glory was any clue. After a minute, the two other Rainwings began to fly away, back in the direction that we had all come from.

With them gone, the conversation grew in earnest, but I could easily see the red spot on Glory continue to grow, and I knew that Blaze was probably asking why she was still there. However, as they continued to talk, the mysterious Nightwing appeared a short way away from them, and was appearing to make his way towards them.

I found this immediately suspicious, and began to fly lower towards him. After a minute, he was almost upon them, and for a split second, I thought I saw a silver glint appear in his hands. When he final stood over the dragonets, he spoke up, gathering everyone's attention. He began speaking, and this time I could see the silver more clearly, in the form of two sharp looking disks.

As they continued talking, everything seemed to slow down for a moment. He had finished saying something to Glory when he quickly pulled his arm back, revealing the disks and going to throw them. As he did, Tsunami jumped in front of Blaze in order to protect her from the sharp projectiles as they were aimed at her. However, they never arrived, as suddenly I dived down and slammed into the Nightwing, meanwhile feeling a sharp pain through my left arm.

I ignored the pain, wrestling the Nightwing to the ground. I could hear the dragonet's confusion as to what I was doing there, in tones of concern, surprise, and even mild anger. However, I was more focused on the Nightwing, and I struggled to keep him down even though he was larger than me.

I didn't need to wait too much longer, however, as soon Clay and Tsunami were both holding him down. I soon got off, looking at my arm. It was heavily wounded, a large tear it it where a silver disk stood out. I sighed before grabbing it, wincing, and pulling it out. I nearly yelled, but I stopped myself. As I started to bleed, I took off the clothes I was wearing, taking a long strip of it, and tying it around the wound.

As the once brown fabric began to turn red, I turned towards the group. Many of the dragonets looked worried towards me, meanwhile Sunny looked mildly upset, and Blaze looked confused and surprised. "Sorry for dropping in." I said, getting a groan from Tsunami and Glory at the awful joke.

"Static, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting!" Sunny cried out, moving towards me. Before she could go on, I quickly grabbed her in a hug, hoping it would stop further scolding.

"Eh, you know, saving the lives of prophecy dragonets and potential Queens. You know, the usual." I said, grinning down at Sunny, who just looked up at me with an upset frown.

"How bad is your wound?" She asked, looking down to where my stab was, but it was still covered by a cloak. Before I could try to bluff, she ripped the cloak away and gasped, seeing how far the venom had spread. At this point, the clouds were all over my left side, and were steadily making their way towards my heart.

Sunny looked towards the others, but stared at the sky. We followed her gaze, and we saw several Icewings coming our way. "We have to go quickly. Hopefully we can get the cactus juice in time." She turned towards Blaze. "It was nice meeting you." She said.

Blaze looked confused, asking why we weren't staying. As the dragonets answered, I turned to see Glory talking to the Nightwing assassin. Apparently, even though he had tried attacking Blaze, he was doing that as an option rather than attack the dragonets. Glory looked unconvinced, but was saying we were going to let him go, and see if he could outfly a large group of Icewings, who were allies with the dragon he had just attempted to attack.

Yeah, good luck with that.

As he flew away, the dragonets and I all decided it was time to go as well, and we all pushed off into the sky, with Blaze calling out to us on her offer to give them all land if they made her Queen, along with thanking me for saving her. I rolled my eyes, wondering how the Sandwing Kingdom would even run if she was Queen.

As we flew, I continued to get scolded by the dragonets for being there. They were thankful for the save, sure, but me actually getting hurt and actually being there made them more upset than grateful. Sunny continued to scold me, meanwhile Tsunami and Glory were wondering how I could be so foolish by risking my wound. Starflight went over the effects of the Sandwing venom, saying that I could have made things infinitely worse, and meanwhile Clay was showing concern as to whether or not I was going to be alright.

After a bit, they had all had their fill of scolding me, and we all flew in silence once more. After a good time of flying, we were over the desert once more, and that's when it began to happen. I was just flying with everyone for a moment, Sunny not leaving my side, and then the first real jolt of pain arrived.

I nearly shouted out, mostly in surprise, but all of a sudden, there was a great bursting pain coming from my chest. As I looked down, I followed the clouds, and could see them reaching across my chest, with a small cluster gathered right where my heart should be. As the pain increased, I cringed, wondering how long I could keep it silent. However, that wasn't the end of things.

The world around me began to get dizzy, and I was doing everything I could to try to keep flying straight. However, as soon as I thought I had it figured out, nausea soon overcame me, and my vision began to fade. We were directly over the desert at this point, only an hour or two until we reached the tunnel, but I knew I wasn't going to make it.

I felt a hand grab my arm, and I could barely hear Sunny ask me if I was alright. As my strength began to fail me, I knew I wouldn't be able to stay airborne for much longer. I looked to Sunny, smiled, and talked to her. "Thank you for helping me Sunny." I said, in which she looked worried. "I'm sorry I couldn't help more. Be sure to go save the world, okay?" As I said that, my vision went dark, and my wings stopped beating altogether. As I fell, I could hear Sunny shout out my name, and not my fake name, but my real one.

Before everything went dark for one last time, I said one last thing, though I am not sure if anyone heard it or not. "I'm sorry."

 _Meanwhile, in the underwater Seawing palace…_

I swam around the palace as usual, looking for something fun to do. Ever since the Summer Palace was destroyed, I had been trying to take my mind off of it, but I felt more of my energy used while on the surface. Saying and doing random things just isn't as fun in aquatic.

However, as I tried balancing a stray piece of coral on my nose (which is a lot harder underwater), I suddenly felt… something, as if something important had happened. As the coral fell off my nose, I looked off in the distance, meanwhile several Seawings passed by me, giving me concerned looks.

Why does it feel like I just lost a friend?

 _Meanwhile, in the Scorpion Den…_

As I made my way through the marketplace, I grimaced at the prices of the grilled lizard I was looking at. As I rubbed the black mark on the center of my chest, contemplating whether or not I should buy it, I began to wonder if I should just go back to Blister's army, or if I should reveal it's location.

By now, my loyalty was the only thing keeping me from revealing where Blister was, but at the same time I didn't want to go back, due to how Blister had never tried to rescue me or anyone else that had been taken prisoner by Scarlet. Currently, I was resting here at the Scorpion Den, deciding my next move. I would stay here, but just like the lizard I was looking at, everything was overpriced, and somehow I knew I would be broke soon, if a thief didn't just steal my money.

I sighed, looking down at the black spot on my chest. It was my scar from the arena, but it was also what had kept me alive. It centered on my chest, but broke off in several patterns across the rest of my chest. If that strange dragon hadn't done whatever it was he did, I would be dead. Sure, I went through a lot of pain, but having survived, I was definitely grateful. Didn't mean I wasn't going to hit him for hurting me next time I saw him though.

However, as I finally made the decision to buy the lizard, I suddenly felt a strange, empty feeling. As I turned around, looking towards where I had felt it come from, I felt like I wasn't going to be able to thank that dragon.

 _Meanwhile, in a volcano prison…_

I was miserable here. After I had tried going after Static, I had been hit in the head. When I woke up, I had an aching headache, A metal band around my mouth, similar bands on my ankles, and had trouble breathing. When I could finally breath, I noticed how horrible the air was, and that it was unnessarily hot. As I looked around, I noticed how dark it was, and that I definitely wasn't in the Rainforest anymore.

As I looked around, trying to figure out where I was, some strange black dragons like the one that was Static's friend appeared and told me to either follow them, or they would carry me. I decided to follow them, and as we flew around after the metal bands on my wings were removed, I got to see where I was.

When we were outside, I could see we were on a strange island that had a mountain like thing in the center, and there was a strange orange liquid everywhere. Surrounding all sides of the island from what I could see was water, with no sign of other land. We flew towards a black stone building, and the black dragons were everywhere.

After going inside, I was lead through many hallways after having my wings re-clamped, and eventually we came across a very strange room. Once inside, I was taken to what could only be described as a prison before being forced to do countless tests, most involving my venom.

After a long time, by which point I was exhausted, I was lead back to the same strange place I had woken up in. As the dragons left, I lied my head down, beginning to cry. I was told I was never allowed to leave, even though all I wanted was to go home. In this cave, I couldn't even see the sky, and even if I could, the strange mountain was letting out so much smoke it would make it impossible to see the stars.

As I cried, I hoped that someone would save me, or that a miracle would occur. As I wept, thinking about how maybe it would be Static that would save me, since he was the most likely to know where I was, I suddenly had a strange feeling, as if my heart was breaking. As I stared into the distance, I could only feel the empty feeling, and I began to weep even harder.

 _Meanwhile, down on the shifting desert sands, unseen to any dragons…_

I watched Jack fall from the sky, with the dragonets soon diving after him. As he fell, the dragonets tried to catch him, and the one known as Clay was able to grab him, and as he opened his wings, the other dragonets grabbed on as well, trying to stop him. By that point though, all six of them crashed onto the ground, though not as badly as they could have.

I walked over to them, wondering if the small chance of an event occurring was actually happening, and as I watched, I knew it was. The dragonets quickly rushed over to Jack, all looking worried for him. They were all yelling at each other, none of them sure what to do. Soon, however, the small Sandwing Sunny went and tried grabbing a cactus, in which after explaining she needed to get it's water to cure him, she soon had the help of the Rainwing Glory and the Seawing Tsunami.

As they went over to Jack, Sunny took a chunk of cactus and began to pour it's contents over his wound. As they all watched, they soon noticed not only was it not doing anything, but that the clouds on his scales had stopped moving, and he wasn't breathing. Sunny began to cry, meanwhile Starflight and Clay began trying to do CPR on him.

I watched their attempts, trying to bring Jack back, but I shook my head. This wasn't supposed to be happening. There was always the chance, but it was a small chance. I needed Jack alive, and I had done everything to keep him that way. However, his latest actions had been done when he was supposed to be resting, and for entertainment, I decided to watch his sister's training instead. That was a foolish decision, and as I watched Jack fail to show signs of life, I walked over to him.

Clay and Starflight had stopped doing CPR, and as Starflight reached two talons to Jack's throat to check for a pulse, I did the same. I held my talons away from his, holding them against Jack's neck. As I pushed down lightly, waiting for a short time, I pulled away, with Starflight doing the same.

As I began to walk away, wondering what I would do next, I saw out of the corner of my eye Starflight shake his head with tears coming out, the same happening to the rest of the dragonets. As they wept, they all realized the same thing.

Jack Draegon was dead.

 **Author's Note: Alright, so sorry for the slightly shorter chapter, I had finals this week, but thankfully I got them done with all A's, so way. And now that I'm in Summer, hopefully I can get longer chapters out! Also, about killing the main character...** _ ***Sees pitchforks and torches outside window***_ _..._ **Well, we'll just have to see what happens. I write this story as it goes, so even I don't know what's going to happen yet. Anyway, thank you all for your support, and the offer still stands for fan art or covers! (I honestly want to see my character from someone who can actually draw, so… yeah). Thanks everyone for reading my story, and the next chapter will be out next week as usual.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I blinked my eyes open, rubbing at them as a bright light filled my vision. I quickly shut them as I grabbed at my head, dizziness keeping me from seeing straight. After a minute, I slowly opened my eyes, and I was surprised by what I saw.

I was in...nothing, would be the best way to phrase it. On all sides of me was seemingly endless white, going on forever in all directions, with not even the ground looking solid. Speaking of the ground, as I looked on in confusion, I noticed my sudden lack of scales, and my sudden addition of skin. My eyes opened in shock, and I checked all over myself: no tail, no protruding snout, no horns… I was human again.

As I looked around in confusion, I suddenly remembered what happened, and I could only guess what was happening. "That's right." A voice said behind me. "You're dead. The afterlife is kinda boring, ain't it?" I whirled around, and was not expecting the person in front of me.

Standing in front of me was a female dragon, but the surprising part was her appearance. She stood over me, which was to be expected since I was human again, but she was still the largest dragon I had ever seen. Her appearance that was shocking, however, was her appearance, which consisted of grey eyes, horns like lightning bolts, and light-grey scales with slow moving clouds going across them.

She was the exact same kind of dragon that I used to be.

She laid in front of me with an amused expression on her face, most likely due to the shock apparent on mine. "Do you know how hard it is to get here without actually dying? You're lucky you're too important to let die, or else I would have just let you go instead of exhausting my resources." I continued staring on in shock, in which her grinned widened. "What, see something surprising?" She asked.

I quickly tried to recover, but many questions still lingered on my mind. "Who are you?" I asked, hoping that by asking this question, I would get some answers.

"My name is Storm. I am a Skywing, and no, not one of those red or orange ones you see nowadays, I'm talking about one of the _original_ Skywings." At my questioning look, she shrugged. "That's a story for another time, I suppose. Now, my turn for a question: what makes you think you can die when so many people are depending on you?"

I looked down when she asked that, not wanting to admit my mistake. "I didn't mean to." I said. "I thought I would have had more time." I looked back up at her, and saw that her face had softened into a morose look. "It's too late, isn't it?" I asked her.

She nodded her head at me. "Unfortunately, yes. Due to the Sandwing venom coursing through you, your body officially couldn't handle it anymore, and you died. We are currently in a place that is most commonly known as limbo, which lies between life and, well, the afterlife."

I nodded, though only in partial understanding. "So why are you here then? What is it that you want from me?" I asked her.

The grin from before reappeared on her face. "I'm here to bring you back to life." At my shocked expression, her grin widened, and she continued. "Of course, it's not as simple as that. As I mentioned before, your body died, so it's going to take a lot to bring you back, and I'm not about to do this for free."

My surprise disappeared, turning into a more serious face. "Should have expected that. Alright, what is it you want from me in order to bring me back?" I asked.

"Just a simple favor." Her expression then turned gravely serious, and it happened so suddenly that what she said next caused me to flinch. "I need you to kill me."

After I was done being surprised, I turned to her, confused. "Why would you want me to kill you?" I asked. "And why me, of all people? You seem to know about me, and if you do, then you should know I'll never willingly do that."

She nodded, before continuing to speak. "I do know this much, but let me explain a few things. First, I've lived a very long life. So long, in fact, that I experienced this world's form of Pangea split, depart into separate continents, and then form into the continents such as Pyrrhia today."

"Secondly, I have a powerful curse, one that you have heard of before, that is commonly known nowadays as animus magic. Normally, I only use the artifacts I have previously created, but there are suddenly time gaps in my memory, and I don't trust myself to not use my power anymore." She was beginning to look very morose. "I'm afraid of what I will do, or of who might get ahold of my powers."

She then looked back up to me. "That's why I brought you to this world. You are the only one I can trust that will not only be able to kill me, but also make sure that none of my animus touched artifacts are put into the wrong hands." At my once more shocked expression, she nodded. "Yes, I was the one that brought you here. That was the last time I remember using my powers, and it was to created a gateway between our worlds, while also giving you a more useful form while here."

I shook my head in disbelief. "But...but why? Why me, of all people? I can't just kill somebody! And what about my family? What about my sister? If I kill you, how will I ever get home?"

She looked at me sadly. "I chose you because you have a great heart, and the ability to have anyone be friendly just by talking to them. You are a good person, and you have the skills needed to kill me. Now, as for your family and you getting home, don't worry, you'll see your sister soon enough. When I created the gateway here, I also created a stone that you'll find with my artifacts that can send a single person back."

I looked at her, still greatly upset by her request. "What do you mean by how I have the skills needed to kill you? Sure, I know how to talk to people, but that's it! I'm nobody special, I'm just an average teenager!"

She grinned mildly and shook her head. "You really shouldn't sell yourself so short, Jack. Trust me, you are very different from most people, and for good reasons. Now, as for your skills, killing me won't be easy. For one, to even reach me you are going to need at least one representative of the common seven dragon tribes of Pyrrhia. Then, as I said before, I have had memory gaps, and since they are beginning to get worse, I cannot promise you that I won't defend myself, and if that happens, you will certainly need help."

"Look, Jack, I know I'm asking a lot from you, but please, promise me that you'll kill me. I don't want to live this life anymore, and I don't want to hurt anyone else. Please, just please help me." She look down at me with sad eyes, with tears welling up in the corners of each.

I sighed, knowing what I had to do. "Alright, I'll do it. But I still need to make sure the dragonets finish their prophecy safely, of course." She nodded in understanding.

"Of course, I expected as much. When their prophecy is complete, you will have six months to deal with me before a new problem arises." Before I could ask what she meant about that, she continued. "Now, we've wasted enough time as is. If you are ready, I will send you back."

"Wait," I quickly said. "What do I do after the dragonets are safe? How will I get to you?" I asked, due to how I wasn't given enough information.

"You will know when the time comes. The clouds will help lead you to me." She then stood on her hind legs while opening her wings wide open. "Now, it is time you go back to the world of the living. Good luck, Jack. Please try not to die again." Before I could ask her anything else, my vision exploded in a bright white light, and then everything went black.

After what seemed like a long time, but was most likely only a few seconds, my vision came back, and I felt a sudden surge of energy course through my veins. I heard a loud sound, almost like an explosion, occur what sounded like right above me, and my wings opened and propelled me straight up, sending me through the dirt roof of my confines.

I exploded from the ground, sending dirt and what appeared to be a few flowers flying in all directions. The smell of the rainforest and fresh rain greeted me, and as I looked around, I found the dragonets standing before me. One their faces were expressions of surprise and shock at my sudden arrival. As I looked at them, I could tell that their face were soaked, and it wasn't due to the rain. So, in order to cheer them up and to break the silence, I landed, looked at them, and said one thing: "Man, dying kinda sucks. I don't advise it."

As their shock faded, I was soon wrapped in one of Sunny's hugs, with her not letting go. "W-we thought you we-were dead!" She cried out, almost sobbing. I quickly returned the hug, and was soon surrounded on all sides, being wrapped in a large group hug by the other dragonets, many of whom were also still crying, but now with smiles on their faces.

I smiled at all of them, tears starting to come to me at their show of affection. "Don't worry, like I said, I'm not planning on going anywhere yet. I'm very sorry for giving you all that scare. I promise I won't do it again, or at least I'll try harder to." Their response was to hug me even harder.

"You made us all cry with that stunt you pulled!" Tsunami yelled at me, and she hugged more tightly to emphasize her point. I looked over at her, and could see she had a few tears as well, but still managing to look upset at me.

"I know, and I'm very sorry for doing that to all of you." I said. "I know you probably have some questions for me, such as how I'm still alive. Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it." I looked down at Sunny, and realized it was time I did something I should have done when I first met all of them. "And when I tell you everything, I mean _everything_. I haven't told everyone here all about me, but I think it's time to tell you the truth."

I heard a murmur beneath me, and I looked down at Sunny and asked her to repeat what she just said. She looked up at me, staring at me with her bright green eyes. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asked, in which I nodded. "Well, if you think so. But… can we just stay like this for a bit. This group hug is very nice." I smiled, nodding once more.

We stayed that way until the rain stopped.

When the rain stopped, we flew back as a group to the Rainwing village. Along the way, we talked about what had happened, and how after burying me, the rain had started. Soon after, as they stood in front of the grave, a single bolt of lightning had struck the ground where i laid, and not a minute after, I re-emerged. Personally, I wished I had seen it myself, but that didn't matter, now that I was back with them.

As we neared the village, I realized there was no pain in my side, and as I looked, I saw that there was no trace of my former wound. When I pointed it out, the dragonets said they had attempted to use the cactus water cure on me. At first, nothing happened, but then the storm clouds disappeared. Though, according to them, the stab wound was still there at the time, which got everyone wondering what happened to my former wound, and if maybe the lightning had healed it.

When we finally reached the village, we all landed on a platform that could fit all of us. As Glory left to find us some fruit to eat with Clay, the rest of us mildly chatted. As we talked, I noticed two things. First of which was how Sunny hadn't left my side since we had gotten back together, and secondly was look on Starflight's face that appeared whenever he looked at her standing next to me, which looked morose.

I had somewhat suspected Starflight of having a crush on Sunny, due to subtle clues that occasionally appeared during our travels. He was always more willing to do things if she asked him, and was willing to face danger just for her. In a way, I felt bad for him, due to how his shyness kept him from admitting his feelings to her, especially when I was around.

As I thought about what I was going to say when the dragonets returned, Glory and Clay arrived with a large amount of different fruits, and we all dove in. After everyone was settled, we ate in silence, each of us trapped in our own thoughts.

After a long amount of silence, with most of the dragonets finished eating, I decided to speak up. "Well, it's time I finally get everything off my chest. I might as well start from the beginning, and end where we are now. Now, there is going to be questions, I know that for certain, but please wait until I am finished talking, if you could. Finally, please don't tell anyone else about this. These are my secrets, and they are that way for a reason. Alright?"

I looked around, and after a moment of hesitation, all of the dragonets nodded. I sighed in relief, and began from my walk home from school. I told them everything, from my fall in the mysterious hole, to my sudden transformation, to my arrival here. I told them of my capture, my survival, and about when I first met them.

I told them about how Sunny already knew this, and about Fathom and his warnings. I told them of every important event that had happened since arriving here, including my meeting with Storm. When I was done, we all sat in silence once more, with the dragonets in a still shock and confusion of questions.

Eventually, Clay was the first to actually speak up. "So after all this time, after everything you've done for us and everything that has happened, why are you deciding to go against Fathom and tell us all of this?" He asked.

I closed my eyes, thinking for a second, before reopening them and looking at everyone with a smile. "Because it doesn't matter anymore. I can trust all of you, and I know I can trust all of you with the truth, whether you believe it all or not."

The silence reappeared once more, with everyone caught in their thoughts. When the silence lasted for more than five minutes, I honestly began to worry, wondering if telling them the truth was actually the right thing. Finally, the silence was broken once more by Glory.

"Look, Sta… I mean Jack, whether what you say is true or not, we'll still be your friends. It's just that your story is a bit… difficult to believe." At that, Tsunami nodded in agreement, with Starflight slowly doing so as well.

I nodded in understanding. "I know it sounds very strange, but is it really so hard to believe? I mean, we already know that animus magic exists, so that part is already possible. And from what I've heard of your history, there was a time here when humans ruled instead of dragons. So don't you think it's possible I'm telling the truth?" I asked.

Tsunami spoke up next. "It isn't that we don't believe you or don't think it's not possible, it's just the sheer fact about how strange it sounds. I mean, you're saying you used to be a scavenger in a world where dragons didn't even exist, and now you're a dragon that is destined to kill an animus claiming to thousands of years old that brought you here? It just sounds...off, is all."

I nodded once more. "That's alright, as long as nothing changes between any of us because of this. Also, if you could please call me Static while around other dragons, that would be the best. I don't want to complicate things with others while you still have a prophecy to fulfill." They all nodded in agreement at that, in which we continued to talk.

We stayed there for a bit, talking to each other. With what I said, Starflight was interested in what my world was like, even if he wasn't a hundred percent sure that I was telling the truth. So as I finished telling them a bit about my home, I remembered that I had to apologize to Singularity for running off like I did. I quickly excused myself from the group, and flew towards the medical hut.

When I arrived, I noticed that the nurse dragons were all gathered in a corner, talking amongst themselves as normal. However, as I looked at them, I noticed a distinct lack of Singularity. I walked over to them, and tapped one on the shoulder to get their attention. When she turned towards me, she looked surprised to see me, but upon looking at my side and the distinct lack of wound, she quickly calmed down. "Excuse me, but do you know where Singularity is?" I asked.

The nurse I asked in particular looked towards the other Rainwings, who looked amongst each other, shaking their heads and shrugging. "Sorry, can't say any of us have. She hasn't shown up here since the other day after she went looking for you. It's really strange, too, since Singularity has never missed a day since she was assigned here." She then turned back to the others. "It's almost like she's disappeared."

When she said that, my eyes widened, and I quickly turned around, in which I almost ran into Sunny. I could only guess she was still following me around, which was starting to worry me at this point. However, I couldn't worry about that then, due to how I had to tell the others about Singularity's disappearance.

Sunny and I flew back to the platform, and quickly found the others. I quickly explained the situation to them, wondering if we could search for her. However, Glory shook her head. "Jack, you know as well as I do that she was probably taken by whatever took the other Rainwings. However, we were planning on going back to the tunnel to investigate a bit more, so maybe we can find some clues there, since that's where you last were in the Rainforest and she was looking for you."

I nodded, in which we all opened our wings and took off for the tunnel. After making our way through the trees, we finally arrived, in which we fanned out once more. While everyone else went off around the clearing, I walked to the middle of it, and closed my eyes. I stood there, thinking about everything that had happened and what I was going to do, when I felt it.

I looked up, noticing the weird feeling in the air. It was different from the feeling created by the tunnel, but not by much. As I followed the feeling, I noticed that Sunny wasn't following me currently, but was still nearby and casting the occasional glance to me. I tried to ignore it, however, and began to follow the feeling.

As I walked, I noticed the feeling begin to get stronger as I walked towards a large tree not too far away from the tunnel. When I approached the tree, I noticed the strange feeling began to get stronger, however, before I could get to it, I was distracted by a casual whistling going on. When I looked up, I saw a dragon I honestly was not expecting to see.

Walking towards me casually was the Nightwing from before that tried to assassinate Blaze when told to kill the dragonets, who0 I learned was named Deathbringer (" _And the happiest name in the world award goes to…")._

However, I wasn't the only one that noticed him and his casual whistling, and I watched as he was tackled by Glory, who had been in a nearby tree. As they grappled, Glory soon came out on top, with Deathbringer pinned on the ground. As the others came over to investigate, I took one last glance over to the tree before going over to them.

As I approached, I noticed Glory and him talking, though while Glory looked extremely angry to see him, he remained perfectly calm. While Glory questioned him, she mentioned the monster in the Rainforest, in which Deathbringer sarcastically pretended to be afraid. I raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what he knew about it. However, before I could ask him about it, the others showed up, along with Tsunami who was holding a bunch of tree vines.

Once Deathbringer was successfully tied up, the real questioning began. However, as I left them to do that, I went back towards the strange feeling emanating from the tree. As I approached the tree, I started walking around it, trying to see where the feeling came from, and was not overly surprised by what I found. Standing before me, embedded in the tree, was another tunnel. "Hey guys," I called out, "I think you should see this."

The others soon joined me at staring at the tunnel, all of wondering where this one lead. When questioned about it and the other tunnel, Deathbringer feigned innocence, but since he had definitely come out of the tunnel that lead to the kingdom of the sand, it was obvious he was lying.

As we decided what to do, Glory suggested that we do a stake out, taking turns on who should watch the tunnel. All of us agreed, in which I volunteered to be on first shift. That idea was quickly shot down by everyone, since they were all worried about me still. After some persuasion, I managed to at least get second shift with Tsunami, after first shift which would be Clay and Glory.

As the rest of us went back towards the Rainwing village to get some rest, I couldn't help but wonder if leaving Deathbringer there was safe. I agreed that we couldn't bring him to the village, but I wasn't sure if leaving him next to two escape routes was a good idea either. However, there weren't many ideas other than to leave him tied up to a tree with more vines. After talking to him a bit more, Glory came up with the great idea to tie his snout as well, since he could more than likely burn the vines, in which that is how we left him, Glory and Clay.

After we returned to the village and all laid down on a platform to rest, I couldn't help but think about many things. Where did the tunnel lead? How was Deathbringer connected to it? Would the dragonet's, and especially Sunny's, overly large amount of concern go away with time? And the most important question of all: was it my fault that Singularity was taken?

As I drifted to sleep with these questions on my mind, I was quickly awakened by a sudden feeling. A feeling like something bad was happening. I looked at the sky, realizing that it was night, and I figured I could just play it off as going to my shift and I was just too sleepy to wake Tsunami. I silently burst off the platform, heading towards the tunnels.

When I arrived, I found Clay in a state of panic untying Deathbringer. "Clay, what are you doing!? And where's Glory?" I asked, getting his attention. He quickly stopped for a second, looking at me, before continuing to untie Deathbringer while explaining to me what happened.

"Glory went off by herself while I went to find something to eat. When I returned, she hadn't returned yet, and Deathbringer wanted to talk to me. Apparently, the final tunnel leads to the Nightwing Kingdom, and they're the ones that have been taking the Rainwings. And now Deathbringer says we have to go save her!" Clay said.

I quickly put a hand on his arm, getting him to stop untying Deathbringer, meanwhile I glared at the tied up dragon. "And how do we know this isn't a trap?" I asked him. He shrugged, before replying.

"You can't really. But personally, I find the dragonets too important and fun to be killed, especially Glory. If you don't believe that she was kidnapped, just look at the trail in the ground by the tunnel where she was dragged. I know you have no reason to, but you'll just have to trust me on this."

I looked over at the tunnel, in which he was correct about the indent on the ground. I sighed, before slashing downwards on the vines with my claws, cutting them off. As Clay stared at his talons, probably wondering why he didn't do that himself, I quickly moved towards the tunnel. "Alright, let's go save Glory then. But if you betray us, you're going to feel the worst shock of your life." I said, in which he nodded as the three of us went through the tunnel.

 _Meanwhile, at Blister's secret base…_

As I moved the pick precisely through the lock, I once again applied too much force and it broke. I sighed and reached for a new pick, but Scorpion quickly put his hand on top of my bag. "Let's take a break." He said, in which I nodded as I began to follow him back to his tent.

The last few days had been interesting, with me learning all sorts of skills. So far, I was great at hand to hand combat and sneaking around without anyone noticing, and I was adequate with throwing weapons and making my wings silent while flying, but so far lockpicking and pickpocketing were beyond me. Personally, I didn't see how those two skills were even really possible with such large claws, but after demonstrating on the local guards several times, Scorpion proved it was quite possible.

Also, on my second day of trying, there was a long time where I couldn't focus on my training. It felt like something had broken inside of me, and I felt extremely sad. After failing a quiz on the perfect moment to strike an unsuspecting guard, Scorpion gave me the day off, but since then we've been training practically nonstop. Since then, the feeling has dissipated, but I still am curious as to what happened that made me feel like that.

When we made it back to the tent, we began Scorpion's favorite pastime for training: chess. His excuse was it's strategy was a great way to open the mind, which would be important for my training, but personally I think he just liked beating everyone at it. He was, to this point, the best person I had ever seen play chess. According to him, he had only ever lost once, and that was purposely to Blister, since he didn't want her to kill him.

As he set up the board, a small Sandwing suddenly appeared, bursting through the tent door. She looked towards Scorpion and me, before speaking. "Blister would like to see you and your disciple immediately, sir." As she scurried off, Scorpion sighed, before waving a talon at me, pointing me to follow him. "Come on, let's go see what she wants and get it over with." He said before exiting the tent.

As we walked together towards Blister's war tent, I spoke up. "So what do you think Blister wants with both of us. I mean, I haven't exactly had much time to learn that much, so hopefully it's not a mission." I said, in which Scorpion shrugged.

"I don't know. If she wants both of us, it's probably important though. You've definitely left an impression on her, and she is quite impressed with both the skills you've demonstrated with your test, along with my reports to her on your progress." At my surprised look, he chuckled. "Yeah, I have to give daily reports on your training for some reason. So far though, she's quite impressed with how quickly you're learning. Who knows, maybe this meeting is to give you some gratitude or something."

At that point, we had reached her tent, in which we let ourselves inside. Standing on the other side of the door was Blister, who was currently staring at a map. When we entered, she looked up, a grin forming on her face. "Ah, if it isn't Spark and Scorpion. I have an assignment for you two, and I believe that it would be a good learning experience for you especially." She said, pointing at me.

"Alright then, what's the assignment?" Scorpion asked. "Can't be too important since you're making me take the rookie along." At that, Blister shook her head, making Scorpion raise an eyebrow.

"On the contrary," Blister said, "This is actually the most important assignment I've ever given you Scorpion, so you better make sure to get it done." Blister proceeded to glare at Scorpion, in which he nodded, suddenly looking more serious.

"Our contacts with the Nightwings returned the other day, stating that their assassin failed on his mark, and has now gone missing. You are to go and take his place, and make sure that the job actually gets done." Blister said.

"And who are the lucky targets that got away from a Nightwing? Last time I heard, they aren't big on failure, so it's surprising that they managed to beat one. So who are they, and why is it so important that they're dead?" As I listened, I couldn't help but wonder how they could talk about killing so casually, but I stayed silent, listening to Blister as she continued.

"Your targets," she said, "are the Dragonet's of Destiny and anyone helping them."

 **Author's Note: Woot, Jack isn't dead! And now we know who the mysterious animus is! Anyways, story wise, there is going to be a lot more coming up, and I'm still planning it all. I know there are probably loads of questions, but I can't answer them probably until arc 2, which is going to be my own story which occurs during the time between books 5 and 6. In fact, here is my plan for the story: Finish the first official book arc (aka books 1-5), then I'm going to do the 6 months as arc 2, then probably finish with arc 3, or the series's official arc 2, aka books 6-10. If there are books 11-15, I'll probably continue the story then, but currently I don't know. Anyway, back on track, I'm just happy I got this chapter written even though I'm having summer (Fallout 4 is really addicting…). And wow, everyone's comments at the twist last week was interesting! I got my first worried comment about fifteen minutes after I posted! Also, please don't sell pitchforks in my comment section, since people might step on them while writing their comments! Anyways, thank you all for your support with this story so far, and the next chapter will hopefully be up next week.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

As we walked through the dark tunnel, I could only have a feeling of dread fill me as we walked. I knew we were going into a potentially dangerous place, which could even be a trap. I began to think about why the Nightwings would even kidnap Rainwings, but I knew it didn't matter in the end. They kidnapped two of my friends, and I was going to break them out, even if guards stood in my way.

Eventually, as we moved through the tunnel, it started to become hard to breath. As Clay breathed a quick breath of fire so we could see where we were going, I could see smoke hanging in the air. I lowered my head, taking in the air that wasn't as smoke filled near the floor, as I began to wonder why there was this much smoke.

Eventually, the tunnel began to brighten up, with us being able to see, but not by much. As we approached what was likely the exit, with the sound of fire outside, Deathbringer stopped Clay and I. "I'll go ahead and distract the guards. I'll tell you when to come out once they are gone." Clay nodded, and I did as well, though more hesitantly, still unsure whether to trust him or not.

Deathbringer left the cave, leaving Clay and I in the darkness. After waiting for a few minutes, the sound of wingbeats could be heard, and not too soon after, Deathbringer stuck his head back in. "They're gone, but I don't know how much time we have. We're going to have to get Glory out quickly. I might know where they took her, so follow me." He then exited, with Clay and I following after him.

When we exited the cave, I was not expecting the scenery before me. The sky was filled with smoke, with hardly any light showing through the dark and devastating island I now stood on. The ground was all rocks, and all of the plant life looking long dead. The only light sources on the island was was the continuously burning fires, along with the cracks in the earth where magma shown through. Nightwings were everywhere, but these Nightwings, compared to almost every other dragon I had seen, looked ill, many with their ribs showing.

I was knocked out of my daze, wondering why they would live here, by Clay as he began to follow Deathbringer. As we moved quickly along the ground, Deathbringer opened his wings, starting to fly. Clay and I followed him as he led us to a part of the island where less Nightwings were around. Lava flowed across the landscape, and even flowed into some parts of the cavern that we were approaching.

When we arrived at the caverns, Deathbringer began looking around, searching for a specific entrance. When he found it, he angled his wings towards it, in which we followed. As we landed, we could hear a commotion up ahead, beyond a river of flowing lava. "Wait here," Deathbringer said, "I'll go see if this is the right cave and what all the commotion is about." Clay and I nodded as Deathbringer jumped over the river, letting his wings glide him across.

Clay and I waited there for a few minutes, hearing what sounded like a conversation going on. However, when Clay heard Glory's voice, he stuck his head from behind the wall we were hiding behind, in which Glory quickly shouted out to him. With Clay and I seeing it was safe, we quickly flew over the lava flow, heading towards where Glory and Deathbringer sat. When we landed, I quickly noticed just how poorly the Nightwings were treating the Rainwings.

We stood in a stone room, with the only ways out being over the lava or to fly out of what looked like a bottomless chasm. Laying in front of Glory, who was heavily binded by the wings and claws, was a rotting, dead animal, which was going to be her meal. There was no trace of water anywhere, and the smoke from the volcano filled the room, making it difficult to breath. Laying around the room were also a couple of unconscious guards, and one who was in a great amount of pain from what looked like Glory's venom. There was also another Rainwing in there, who was probably one of the youngest dragons I had seen so far, looking only a few years old.

"Static, what are you and Clay doing here? And why are you with Deathbringer?" Glory asked us as she took a metal spear laying on the ground, trying to unbind herself with it. As she did that, Clay began explaining before I could, telling Glory about how Deathbringer had told us everything, and how we had come to save her.

"Well, you and any other Rainwings, if we can." I said. "Do you know where the other Rainwings are being held?" I asked, looking to Glory. As she answered, Clay took the spear from her, beginning to help unbind her.

"I only know that they are being held over in other caves connected to this chasm." She said, pointing over to the other exit. "But Kinkajou here says she knows where the other Rainwings are being held. But even then, there are still Rainwings being held in the Nightwing's fortress."

I nodded, turning towards the smaller Rainwing. "Can you point me towards a Rainwing who got here just before Glory did?" I asked, looking at her. "She goes by Singularity, and I would at least like to get her out before any of the Nightwings figure out what's going on. I think she might be able to help us."

Before she could speak up, Deathbringer interrupted us. "We don't have any time to rescue any other Rainwings. The guards will realize something is wrong soon, and when they realize that there are not only intruders, but all prisoners escaping, there will be no chance of escape. We have to go now, and even then I'll only be able to buy you a few more minutes."

I shook my head. "Then go ahead without me. Singularity is here because of me, and I'm not leaving without her." I turned once more towards Kinkajou. "Which way is she?" I asked, meanwhile picking up another one of the peculiar spears. When I really looked at it, I saw that it had a twisted end, as if made for a specific reason.

"Singularity is two caves down, one on the left." She said, walking over to the edge and pointing it out to me. "She's guarded though, cause she tried to fight back when she first arrived. Please save her though, she's one of the cooler dragons in the village! She's not boring, unlike almost everyone else."

I nodded, and as I opened my wings and flew into the dark chasm, I heard Glory and Clay yelling at me to come back, saying we would get them all later. I ignored them, however; if we were going to rescue the Rainwings, we would need more than just our group, and Singularity would be able to help us with that. Besides, I owed it to her, and I wouldn't forgive myself until she was no longer in this wretched prison.

When I landed in the cave that was pointed out, I saw a grey, sad looking Rainwing on one side, who looked like she had cried for some time. When I realized it was Singularity, I was instantly angered by seeing someone who always had been happy in such a state. There was also a Nightwing standing in the cave entrance, who also had a spear and was covered in metal armor.

When I landed, both dragons looked towards me with varying reactions. Singularity first looked surprised, and then overjoyed, but as she saw that the Nightwing had seen me as well, she instantly looked scared as well. The Nightwing looked surprised, then confused, wondering who I was and why I was here, and then serious as they reached for what looked like a metal gong.

I didn't let them reach the gong, quickly releasing a fury of lightning bolts, which easily connected with the guards armor, making them jerk around and spasm for a moment before falling to the ground, unconcious. I quickly went over to Singularity, knowing that every second counted.

Singularity tried talking to me, but was muffled by a metal clasp around her mouth. I saw a familiar looking hole on the side of it, and reached the spear up to her mouth. Singularity held still as the spear moved around, and after almost a minute of fiddling around, the clasp opened, releasing the clasp. Singularity looked up at me with tears in her eyes as I began cutting off her bindings.

"Static, thank goodness you're alright! I was certain that when I was brought here and Kinkajou had seen no sign of you, that the Nightwings had done something horrible to you! And then there was that moment where it felt like the worst had happened….it's just been horrible. The Nightwings are just….why are they doing this to us?" Singularity asked as I finished cutting off the bindings for her wings.

"None of us know, but it doesn't matter. We're getting out of here, and then we're going to make a plan to save everyone else. I'm sorry you had to go through all of this though," I said as I finished cutting off her bindings. "It's my fault that you were even captured in the first place, and you were just worried about my health, so I'm also sorry about making you worry so much…." I was cut off by Singularity quickly grabbing me in a hug.

"Stop apologizing. I saw how much you wanted to move and help your friends. I understand how you felt. And I don't blame you for me being kidnapped; I knew about the missing Rainwings, and I should have been more careful." She let go, looking at me. "So how about we just let everything go and get out of here? I do want to see the stars again, and I can't do it on this horrible island."

I smiled and nodded, quickly pointing Singularity the way that I had come from. Together, we flew through the chasm, making our way through the now empty (except for the Nightwings) room, and over the lava. However, as we exited out of the horrible prison, we were greeted by several Nightwing guards.

There were about five of them, and as I looked towards the cave we had come from, I saw that there were a few more, several of who were facing Clay, Glory and Kinkajou, with Deathbringer nowhere in sight. However, I saw I had an advantage over them: almost all of them were wearing metal armor.

"Singularity, fly to the others on the beach, quickly!" I yelled out as the Nightwings spread out before me, trying to surround us. As one went towards Singularity, I quickly blasted him with lightning, sending him to the ground below, thankfully landing away from the lava. As Singularity flew, I was surrounded by the remaining four guards, all now aware of my special attack.

As I saw them prepare to breath a torrent of fire on me, I quickly flapped my wings, crashing straight into one of the guards who was so surprised that he had no time to move out of the way. As we collided, I quickly grabbed him, spinning to move him in between me and the fire that was now coming after me. I heard him scream in front of me as the fire blasted on and around him, and I winced as not only could I smell a horrible cooking smell, but as some of the fire caught around the edges, burning my legs and tail.

As I dropped the Nightwing, who I noticed was heavily burned around the face but still breathing as he fell, I quickly lashed out at the other Nightwings. As I breathed as much lightning as I could at them, successfully taking out two of them and leaving one of them still flying, I quickly turned to make my ways towards the beach. I moved my wings as fast as I could, and I could tell I was going to make it without being caught, but I was stopped as another Nightwing came out of nowhere in front of me, ready to release a torrent of flames in my face.

Before either of us could react, he was knocked out of the way, being tackled by a furious red Rainwing who I recognized as Singularity. The Nightwing released his flames in shock, thankfully hitting nothing in his surprise. However, as he realized he was being attacked by Singularity, who was scrathing at his snout furiously, he began using his claws as well. When I reached the two of them, I heard Singularity cry out in pain, and as I looked, I saw that the Nightwing had torn open her old scar on her leg.

Before he could continue his assault, I released the last bit of lightning I could, making him cry out in pain as we let go of Singularity, and then fell to the ground. The two of us hovered there for a second, catching our breaths, but as I turned around, I could see several more guards headed towards us, and with Singularity in pain, I knew she wouldn't make it to the cave before they arrived.

I quickly grabbed ahold of her, wrapping my legs around her. "Close your wings and hold on tight." I said to her. She looked surprised for a moment, before wincing at a sudden rush of pain and nodding. As she closed her wings, I opened mine as far as I could make them, and then propelled myself towards the tunnel. As I flew with Singularity holding onto me, I put as much strength as I could into my wings, trying to make me go faster and faster.

The land underneath us pushed past us quickly, and in no time at all we were at the beach. I quickly angled my wings, turning quickly to head towards the tunnel that led back to the Rainforest. I pushed even faster, and right before we fit the tunnel, I closed them tightly into me, sending me into the tunnel like a bullet. Once we were inside, I opened my wings fully once more, trying to slow down. When I was slowed enough that I could manuver once more, I began flying through the cave, avoiding as many rocks as I could, but still hitting a few since I couldn't see and I was still going pretty fast.

As the smell of the Rainforest filled my nose, I sighed in relief as we bursted out into the pleasent night air. I slowed down quickly, taking several deep breaths of clean air as I landed, meanwhile Sinularity letting go of me. As we both took several moments to take a breath, I was quickly bombarded by Clay and Glory, both of whom hugged me. "Thank goodness you made it out alright." Clay said. "Glory and I were certain something bad had happened, and we were about to go back in after you."

I smiled at them. "The thought is appreciated, so thank you. Now, I think Singularity and I need to take a visit to the medical hut." I said, pointing over to Singularity, who was currently hugging Kinkajou, glad she was out as well. Clay and Glory winced at our wounds, with Singularity bleeding from several cuts and her leg, and my burn wounds and a few scratches I had from the cave.

Glory nodded. "Yes, let's get you two there right away. Clay will lead you two back, meanwhile I'll stay here and guard the tunnel." We nodded at this, with us opening our wings and beginning to fly back to the village, with Kinkajou and Glory staying. As we flew, I couldn't help but sigh in relief, glad that everyone was safe once more, but even then, I knew it wasn't over yet.

 _Meanwhile, at Blister's secret base…_

As we sat in Scorpion's tent, with both of us going over all of our equipment to make sure it was ready to go, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. Not only was I going on my first assignment, but it was also extremly important and I was going to have to kill other dragons. As I stared into a dagger, looking back at myself in the reflection, I began to wonder whether or not I could actually do this.

I was psuhed out of my thoughts by Scorpion speaking up. "Alright, get over here." He said to me, directing me to the table in the middle of the room. I put the dagger down and got up, going over to the table. When I got there, I could see a map of Pyrriah laying on the table, with three red circles on it.

"Alright, so for this mission, we are first going to have to find out where the dragonets even are. Once that is done, we can continue from there. However, that isn't going to be easy, with there being no signs of the dragonets since the incident at the Seawing palace." He pointed at the three circles on the map. "These are the three places I have ruled out where they could be hiding, based on how it is likely they are laying low for now."

The three places on the map were all on different corners of the map, and were quite spaced out. First was the Northeastern corner of the continent, which was in between the Seawings and the Skywings, but no one was fully in the area. The next was the bottom right corner, and was the largest circle, as it covered the whole rainforest there. The final circle was on the bottom left corner, which circled a small part of the continent that, if the continent was a dragon, would be its claws, and was technically part of the desert, thoujgh it did have mountains as well.

"Now, in order from least likely to most likely, we have the Skywing territory, the outer Sandwing territory, and the Rainforest. After their encounter with Scarlet and how the kingdom is still in dismay, I doubt they would be hiding in the Skywing's territory,though it isn't impossible. Secondly, that area of the desert is unpopulated, and many dragons avoid that place, but it is also the farthest distance from where they started, and I don't think they would go into another potentially dangerous area, since dragons must avoid that place for a reason."

Finally, he pointed at the Rainforest. "The Rainforest would make the most sense and would be the best place to hide. If they were there, then they would have plenty of food, water, and a safe haven, due to how the Rainwings are too lazy to be part of the war. It isn't too far from the ocean, and overall, would be the best place for them to hide until they were ready to act once more." He stopped for a second, as if in thinking. "However, there have been rumors of something sinister in the Rainforest, and there have been Mudwings being killed in there."

He looked up from the map, looking at me. "If we are to do this, we first need to decide a place to scout out. We won't be in danger if we do the Rainforest, other than whatever has been killing Mudwings. If we go to the desert, we might be found by Burn's troops, which we might also face while in the Skywing territory. I take it you know which place we're going first?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "I hope it's the Rainforest, but knowing how things usually work out, I can only guess that we're going to one of the other locations. I mean, sure, the Rainforest almost sounds perfect, but wouldn't it be too easy? If you were to hunt these dragonets, wouldn't that be one of the first places you would check?"

Scorpion nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what I thought, but there is also the problem of the other tribes not actively hunting for the dragonets. Sure, if they see them, they'll be captured and killed, but they are still busy with the war to waste resources hunting them. So, since it's the simplest area and you're still in training, we are in fact going to the Rainforest. However, there is another problem with the Rainforest." Scorpion said, looking down at the map once more. "If they are in there, they are probably in the Rainwing Kingdom, which is hidden and, of course, full of peaceful Rainwings."

He shook his head. "It won't be easy, and as I have told you before, try to avoid violence when you can, but it is going to be difficult to kill a few dragons in the middle of a Kingdom, especially when you stick out, which we will. The best case scenario is that we find the village unnoticed, find the dragonets there, and get in and out during the night without anyone even knowing we were there." He began rubbing his head with a couple of talons. "If only things could go as well as you wished they would."

"You can only ever hope for the best." I said. "However, I do have a question about these dragonets." Scorpion looked up at me, waiting for my question. "Why do they have to die? Why does Blister want them dead so badly?"

Scorpion shook his head. "It's mainly due to a prophecy created after the war began. The prophecy entails that these dragonets will end the war after two of the Sandwing sisters are dead. Not only does Blister not like the odds of her survival, but she personally met with them. Their meeting did not go well, and not only does Blister despise them, but it is almost certain they don't like her as well, and thus, they need to be dealt with."

I cocked my head at his explanation, confused. "But if they end the war, wouldn't it be better for everybody? What about the greater good? Surely two of the sisters being killed would be better than hundreds of dragons dieing?"

Scorpion shook his head once again. "But there in lies the problem. If only two of the sisters are to die, which one should be allowed to live? Every tribe in the war has something to gain if their side is victorious, and none of the sisters want to die themselves. And thus, that is why we are in this war, and why the dragonets have to die."

I glared down at the table. "But isn't that going to happen one day anyway? If only one side can win this war, whether through the prophecy or just through normal war fighting, shouldn't it be done by prophecy dragonets who can do it before more lives are lost, rather than fighting until too many lives have been lost and a single side is victorious cause they are surrounded by the most corpses?"

Scorpion was glaring at me now, anger evident on his face. "Look, I don't like it as much as you do, but it's what Blister demands, and if we both want to keep our heads, then we are just going to have to do it, alright?!" He glared at me for a little longer before sighing and rubbing his temples. "Look, I've been in this business for a long time. Killing is all I've been doing ever since this war started. At first, it was fun, and helped me to forget….but now, I just do the tasks given to me so I don't die, and I just want to rest."

We stood there in silence, neither speaking up. Eventually, Scorpion got up and began grabbing his stuff. "Grab your stuff, we're going to be heading out soon. And be sure you have everything; we aren't coming back for a while, and it's a long flight to the Rainforest from here." With all of his stuff, Scorpion exited the tent, not even giving me a place or time to meet him.

As I sat there for a while, staring at the bag of equipment, I could only really wonder if I was actually doing the right thing. If these dragonets were to die...what would happen with this world? Of course, if Blister was telling us to kill them, maybe she had a plan? I shook my head as I headed over to my stuff. If killing these dragonets would help me get my brother back….then it had to be done, whether I liked it or not.

With all of my equipment stored away in their respective backs, I threw them over my back, strapping them to my sides as I put my new cloak over myself. As I walked to exit the tent, I couldn't help hum to myself a song that fit too perfectly with how I felt right now. " _Ain't no rest for the wicked…"_ I wispered as I began to move through the tents, hoping to find Scorpion.

As I moved through the tents, passing by a few Sandwings, I suddenly felt a strange feeling wash over me. I turned towards the direction it came from, facing another tent. However, something about this tent felt...off, and I had the urge to go inside it. Looking around, I saw that there were no Sandwing soldiers around, and so I decided to take a peek inside.

When I entered, I saw that this tent was very different from most tents I had been inside so far. There were fancy looking rugs covering both the floor and the walls, and many strange looking trinkets scattered about, along with what looked like incense burning, emenating a strange scent. There was a single Sandwing inside, though she looked odd: she was no soldier, that was for certain. She looked like a dragon version of a crazy shop keeper, and I had the sudden urge to leave.

I wasn't allowed that comfort, however, as the dragon turned towards me. "Ah, welcome, welcome!" She quickly walked over to me. "I've been expecting you for quite some time, dearie. Come, sit, sit." She turned around, giving me no time to react as she pointed to a rug. Not knowing what to do, I listened to her, moving over to where she pointed.

As I sat down, she continued to talk. "Now, I know you probably have a few questions, but for now, let me just talk. I don't get the chance to ramble to another all that often, so please, just sit and be quiet, alright?" Before I could ask what was happening, she continued. "Good, good. Now, I know you are having some doubt about what you should do with your coming mission." Before I could ask how she knew about that, she shook a claw at me. "Hush hush, it doesn't matter how I know."

As I stared wide eyed at her, she continued. "Now, I know you want to find your brither, but this isn't the right way to do it, and you know this." She looked at me saddly. "Trust me, I know what it is like to try to do anything just to get something you want. Taking other's lives though….it is never the right way." She looked towards the ceiling, gazing off into the distance. "If you take another's life, especially ones like the dragonets, you'll forever be filled with guilt, along with the constant thought of "what if?""

I spoke up quickly before she could continue. "Then what should I do then? Both Blister and Scorpion are expecting me to just be able to kill them, and if I don't, I might never see my brother again! What am I supposed to do then? I know killing isn't right, but if it gets me my brother back, shouldn't I do it?"

"But would your brother want you to kill another just to find him?" She asked, making me recoil. Knowing she had guessed my main line of doubt, the dragon laughed softly. "Look, I know you want to find him, but you know you need to do what is right."

I looked down at the ground, lost in thought. "So...what do I do then? If I don't kill them, Scorpion or Blister will, and then I'll never find my brother." As I said this, tears began to fall from my face. The Sandwing tsked, before wiping the tears away and lifting my head up, looking me in my eyes.

"When you get to the Rainforest, wait for Scorpion to fall asleep, and to make sure he stays asleep. Then, go into the forest and follow the stars. When you get to the Rainwings and find the dragonets, they will lead you to your brother." When she finished, she let go of me. "Now go, there is no more time to waste!" And with that, she pushed me out of her tent.

I turned around, about to ask her what she meant, but I stood in shocked silence. The tent was gone, with no trace of it or the Sandwing present. As I stood there, confused, I was grabbed on the shoulder. I quickly turned around, surprised to find Scorpion standing there.

"You have everything? Remember, we aren't coming back for a while, so be certain." While he talked, he noticed my still confused face. "Is everything alright?" He asked me.

I quickly shook my head. "Yeah, I just thought I saw something. It was nothing though…" I said, looking back once more to see the now empty spot. "I'm all ready to go though, so let's get going to the Rainforest, I guess."

"Well, alright then, if you say so. Just remember, it's going to be a long flight, and we won't be stopping for a while." With that, Scorpion turned around and opened his wings, flying off. As I did so as well, following him, I could only think about what had just happened, and whether or not I should follow the strange dragon's advice.

 _Meanwhile, in a place unknown to most dragons..._

As I returned to the place I called my home, I could only sigh as I released the magic that was holding my Sandwing disguise. As I sat down, I could only think, hoping that not only had I done the right thing, but that it would also be enough to convince Sara.

After my talk with Jack, I began thinking, and I knew that if he was to kill me, he was going to need the emotional support of his sister. Besides, if I didn't tell her, there would be timelines where the next time they met would not be in a peaceful manner. However, even now, those timelines could still occur, and I could only pray that they didn't end up killing each other.

As I sat there, lost in my thoughts, I felt a sudden twinge in my head, as if another headache was forming. As I reached a hand to my head, the sensation grew, and my vision began to go black. I leaned my head back, knowing what would soon happen, and hoping that Jack would be able to stop it from continuing.

Suddenly, everything was black as my eyes shut close, and not a moment later opened wide open, but now, instead of being a grey, were now a red in color. "So," I wispered out as I looked at my shelf of trinkets, "What to do today?..."

 **Author's note: Hey there everyone, sorry I'm late with this chapter. I was on vacation with relatives, and I wasn't able to find an internet connection while in Yellowstone. Meanwhile, I do thank you all for your patience, and am happy to say that the story shouldn't be delayed for two more chapters (meaning im posting on time this Wednesday and the next one, but I'll explain then what will be an issue). I do apologize for now and in advance, but I do live a busy life at times, and I actually use my free time to write this story. Anyhows, thank you all for your support, and the next chapter will be out this Wednesday.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

After we had gotten back to the Rainwing village, Singularity and I went to the medical hut. When we got there, Singularity tried to patch me up first, but I convinced her to look after her wound first. After a long time, Singularity was done patching herself up, and thus she began looking at my wounds, which mainly involved a type of paste put over my burns. When all was said and done, Singularity used sleeping darts on both of us, making us rest so our wounds could heal.

When I woke up the next day, I could see it was a bit later in the morning, and that I was surrounded by most of the dragonets, though Tsunami and Sunny were absent, which later turned out was because they were currently guarding the Nightwing cave. While looking around, I could see Singularity also on one of the medical beds, with the other medical Rainwings more thoroughly looking after her wounds.

"Glad to see you're up again, though it's sad that it has to be in the healer's hut once again." Glory said. "However, you should be told that some important events are currently occurring, though I'm not too certain you can help to prepare for them."

"Well, as long as it's part of the plan to rescue the other Rainwings, I'm all for it." I said. "However, I am curious as to what these "important events" are. Did you convince the Rainwings to fight or something?"

Glory shook her head. "In a way, I am working on that, but in a more...drastic way. The rest of us talked to Magnificent this morning, and she refused to go to war with the Nightwings to save the other Rainwings. So...I challenged her to be Queen."

There was silence in the room, with even the medical dragons and Singularity going quiet. I was the first to respond, answering with a simple "What." It wasn't so much a question as it was a word said in shock. This was mainly due to the dragon's way of choosing the next Queen, which was a battle to the death. Not exactly a perfect system, if the current war didn't make that obvious.

"Now, don't worry about her having to die, Static." Glory said, knowing my views on killing others. "Turns out the Rainwings have a different view of how it should be done, at least before they started taking turns. Turns out I'm going to have to compete in a series of events against the other Queens, such as a camouflage contest or a venom contest."

I nodded, liking what I was hearing. "So you can become Queen and nobody has to die?" I asked, with Glory nodding. "Dang. If they weren't so lazy, I would have to say that Rainwings have a perfect system." I saw a look being given to me from Singularity. "Present party excluded, of course."

Glory shook her head. "No, you're definitely right about that Static. They are lazy, but that is also because they are peaceful. It's going to take a lot of effort just for me to be Queen, but to also prepare them to fight to save their fellow Rainwings?" Glory shook her head once again. "It's going to take a lot of work, that's for sure."

I got off of the bed, finally awake enough to move, and put a hand on Glory's shoulder. "And we'll all be with you the whole way, Glory." I said, nodding towards Clay. "We're all friends, and we'll help you out. Besides, maybe when all of this is done, having one of the dragonets of destiny being a Queen could be useful. Of course, you have to become Queen first, so get out there and do whatever it is you have to do to get ready."

Glory gave me a funny look with a smile. "You know you're not very good at inspirational speeches, right?" At my deadpan expression, she laughed lightly. "But you are correct, I do have only a day to prepare, and I better get started."

Singularity decided to speak up before Glory left. "If you need any extra help, I would be perfectly happy to assist. I can't guarantee I can do much physically speaking," she said, pointing towards her leg. "But I still have more knowledge than the average Rainwing, and I'm all for having an actual Queen at last."

Glory smiled and thanked her, before heading out the door. As the medical dragons began whispering amongst themselves once more, most likely with renewed vigor since they now had more to talk about, I decided to get up. When I did, I noticed just a few twinges of pain here and there, mainly from where I had crashed into rocks, but overall I wasn't doing so bad.

I walked over to Singularity, where she looked up at me with a smile. "Looks like the tables have turned." She said, grinning at me. "I should let you know, I don't like being tied down."

I grinned back at her. "I don't know, I've found out that the vines around here are great for tying dragons down. I'm sure if I really wanted to, I could keep you tied to that bed until you were perfectly healthy." We shared a grin for another moment. "But in all seriousness, how are you holding up?"

She shrugged at me before looking at her back leg. "I should be fine with my minor cuts, but my reopened scar is another problem." She looked down with a small sigh. 'I'll probably be stuck in bed for a week, and even after that I'll have to be careful with it for about a month after."

"Well," I said, pretending to be deep in thought, "I guess I could keep you company whenever I'm not helping the dragonets. I mean, it would only be fair, since you did keep me company while I was recovering."

She looked up at me with a smile. "I would like that." The smile then turned into a grin. "I might have to do at least one escape attempt though, just as payback."

I gave her a deadpan look. "And look where that whole scenario led us. I don't want you to escape just so I can be captured by another tribe, like the Icewings. We already have one problem to deal with, and we don't exactly need another."

Singularity laughed a bit. "Yeah, I know, but it's kind of amusing imagining you in distress, just to be saved by me." She stopped laughing, looking at me with a smile. "So you will visit at least?"

I nodded. "Of course. Being bedridden sucks and is extremely boring. Heck, I'll probably visit you after I check on how Glory is even training for this coming event."

"Well, that's very thoughtful of you." She raised up a hand in a wave. "See you in a bit then, Static."

"See you soon as well, Singularity," I said as I headed towards the door. "Be sure to get better and don't try any escape attempts!"

When I was out of the medical hut, I looked around, trying to decide which way Glory could have gone. However, as I looked around, I realized that Glory wasn't the only one missing. As I realized that most of the Rainwings were currently missing, I could only wonder what they were all up to. However, as I saw a couple flying past me, I decided to follow them to see where they were headed.

Sure enough, after a little flying, I eventually came across Glory, who was currently with Clay, Sunny, who was no longer at the cave and had switched out with Starflight, and two of the Rainwings from before, who I remembered as Mangrove and Kinkajou. When I flew down to the platform they were on, I saw Glory staring down at a table of assorted fruit, naming them off. Meanwhile, as the others watched, I realized that the Rainwings I had been following were gone, but as I looked in the trees, I could see the occasional movement that showed that many of them were currently hiding and watching.

As Glory continued her training, with Mangrove, I landed next to Sunny. She smiled up at me, and while Glory learned about the many fruits of the rainforest, we talked. Sunny was of course a bit upset that I left without the rest of them the other night, but was still glad that not only were we all alright, but we now knew where the missing Rainwings were.

That's how things went for the rest of that day. Glory went about her training to prepare for the next day, where she would compete to be Queen. She went through many topics, from learning about the fruit's names, smells, and flavors, to venom target practise, to camouflage and how to maneuver through the trees easier (which was interesting because they used their curved tail to wrap around branches and move faster).

Throughout the day, I occasionally helped when I could, but for the most part me and the others were just moral support, not able to do much but let the Rainwings such as Jambu, Mangrove and Kinkajou teach Glory. For the most part, I was either talking with Sunny and Clay, or I was at the medical shelter keeping Singularity company. It was nice, in a way. After everything that had happened, it felt relaxing to just be able to talk with friends instead of having to worry about who was going to try to kill you next.

Eventually, after a long day, it was time for everyone to go to sleep. Of course, it took a while to convince Glory of that, due to how she wanted to be extra ready for the next day, but after a while we were all able to get her to go to sleep. Of course, I didn't get to sleep right away, since that night I was on guard duty with first Tsunami and then Sunny. During the first shift, Tsunami and I just talked about battle strategies, such as what we would do when we did invade the Nightwings. We both had a few ideas, and we both talked quietly just in case there were Nightwings listening in, but truth be told, neither of us were sure on how to make a pacifistic village fight for themselves.

During my shift with Sunny, we just idly chatted about Glory becoming Queen. Sunny, of course, was extremely excited and was rooting for her the entire way. I was rooting for her as well, of course, but was still wary about whether or not Glory would succeed. Not only was she facing more than one Queen, but she was also going to be facing them in events that they had more experience with than her.

As I said goodbye to Sunny, who seemed sad to see me going once again, I went back to the platform that the dragonets and I had claimed since we had gotten here. When I arrived, I woke up Clay, sending him off for his turn. As I began to fall asleep, a familiar feeling washed over me, and I knew it was time to say hello to Fathom again.

 _Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Seawing's Kingdom…_

As Scorpion and I flew down to an island, I was glad that we were finally getting a chance to rest. We had been flying all day, and now we were finally able to take a break for the night. When we landed, Scorpion scouted the place out, saying that it would be fine for us to rest at. As he went to find us something to eat, I began gathering resources for a fire. By the time I had one going, Scorpion was back with a few sizeable fish.

The two of us sat down on the sandy beach, watching the flames as the fish cooked, neither of us really speaking except for the occasional thought. Eventually, when the fish was done, we both took our meals and ate in silence. Overall, it was mildly concerning, the silence, and I was worried as to what it might be about.

Finally, not being able to take the silence for much longer, I just asked him the first topic question that came to mind. "So why do you work for Blister?" I asked, getting his attention from where he sat while he watched the dancing flames of the fire. "I mean, don't you always say she's threatening your life? Why do you work for her if she could kill you?"

Scorpion stared at me for a minute, before looking back at the flames and answering. "At first, it wasn't my choice. I was abandoned as an egg, and I spent years in the desert just trying to survive. Eventually, one of Blister's soldiers found me as I was trying to steal some of their supplies, and gave me the choice of either being killed or joining their army." He took another bite of his fish, and continued a minute after. "I learned the trade of an assassin that way, doing everything I could just to survive. Blister has no need for weak soldiers, and at first seriously considered killing me, at least until I proved myself."

He looked up at me with his cold, black colored eyes. "When I did prove myself, I was kept on a short leash, since Blister wanted to keep her little murder weapon. Eventually, I was able to cut that leash, but stayed anyway. Those soldiers gave me a home where I had none, and besides, Blister is at least smart. Burn and Blaze on the other hand, they either only care about themselves or want to see the whole world burn. Honestly, it's not a very hard decision when you really look at it."

Looking over at me, I'm sure that Scorpion could see the grim expression on my face. "You shouldn't pity me though." He said. "First of all, I hate being pitied due to the life I have lived. I chose this road, and I'll keep living it as long as I decide to. Secondly, I don't deserve pity. Not after everything I have done and most likely will do."

When he finished, he continued staring at the fire, and I did the same as I was lost in my thoughts. I had been considering the idea of trying to convince Scorpion to just abandon the mission, and then sneak off. However, after what he had just told me, I knew that that would never happen.

I decided to retire for the night, with Scorpion staying up for first watch. As I drifted off to sleep, I knew I would have to sneak away from Scorpion without him following me. If I made it to the dragonets and Scorpion followed me, I would be sealing their fates. I had thought about sneaking off when he was asleep, but he would still possibly have a way of tracking me. I had also considered sleep poison, which I had, but I couldn't risk it, in case he had built up an immunity.

As I drifted off to sleep, a new plan began forming in my mind, and I knew what I had to do when we eventually reached the Rainforest.

 _Meanwhile, in the dreamscape of Jack's mind…_

 _I once again stood in the familiar clearing, with Fathom standing in front of me. At first, I was going to say hello and ask why it had been so long since we last talked, but seeing the almost furious look on his face, I decided to let him speak first._ "Jack, it is almost unbelievable that I am even able to talk to you right now." _Fathom said._ "But I do have one question, and that's why can't you just take simple advice!?"

 _I flinched back slightly, not expecting to be yelled at, but perfectly understanding why. "_ Even now, we still don't even know how you came back to life, let alone be perfectly healed. And now, the futures are changing even more, with the possibility of the changes to even be fixed anymore!" _Fathom's expression went from furious to calm as he looked at me. "_ And we're glad you're okay, at the very least. When you died, we thought it was all over, and I even blamed myself, but when you somehow came back without warning...well, you definitely keep finding ways to surprise us, that's for certain."

 _I stayed silent as he continued._ "Anyway's, I would like to know how exactly you came back, if you know at all, but first, we need to discuss both the events that are soon to come, along with the mentioned futures that might no longer be inevitable. Firstly, as you now know, you will have to face the Nightwings." _When Fathom said that, he looked down, as if saddened by this._ "If you can, try to find a way to do so without actually killing any of them, and finding a peaceful solution."

 _I nodded to him. "_ Of course, Fathom. You should know by now my opinion on violence. If I can try to find a peaceful solution instead of one that just ends in violence, I'll always strive for peace."

 _Fathom smiled at that. "_ Of course, and I expected no less. Now, as for the timelines that are shifting," _When Fathom said this, his face turned to a more grim look, "_ I'm not sure if it is possible to undo, and there would be no way for you to do so without me being blunt. Jack, you need to be careful with your actions with Sunny, at least until the prophecy is fulfilled."

 _At this, I cocked my head at Fathom in confusion. "_ What do you mean by that? Does this have something to do with why she has been acting strangely lately?" _As I said this, I thought back to how Sunny has been spending more time with me lately, and was more concerned about my safety than usual._

 _Fathom nodded. "_ Yes, it's why Sunny has been acting strangely. Jack, Sunny is falling in love with you. You can't allow this, at least not at the moment. She is going to have to make some drastic decisions in the coming future, and since she believes nothing bad can happen to her and her friends due to the prophecy, she might try to put you in a higher priority than her own safety. You need to make sure this doesn't happen, no matter what."

 _At the moment, I was currently filled with shock and confusion. At first, I didn't understand why Sunny would fall in love with me, let alone if it was actually true. But as I thought about it, her latest actions enforced this claim, and it made sense, especially her reaction to when I came back, which I just pushed off as her being glad a friend wasn't a dead. I shook my head, still not sure how to feel. "_ Alright, I'll see what I can do. I honestly did not expect this."

 _Fathom nodded in understanding. "_ Yes, I can understand that. Just do what you can, that's all I can ask for. Now, I would ask you about how you came back to life, but it looks like our time is running short." _As he said that, the first tremor in the dream occurred. "_ Be careful until next time, Jack. Many events are soon to unfold, and you'll only have time to prepare for the Nightwings."

 _I nodded and said goodbye as the landscape began to crumble away, eventually leaving me in darkness once more before I woke up._

 _A few hours later, at the Rainwing Arboretum..._

As we stood in the Arboretum, I was beginning to get uneasy, due to Glory's competition. Standing across from where Glory was standing, trying to look strong even though she was probably more nervous, stood the five current Rainwing Queens, all of which looked like they were ready to defend their current position of power.

"Hey, stop looking so uncertain," Singularity said, nudging me, "You need to support your friend, and looking like you can't find your hidden fruit stash isn't going to help her." I looked down and smiled at her, thankful for the support. I had personally aided her over to the Arboretum from the medical hut, making sure she didn't put too much weight on her leg.

I shrugged. "I know, I'm just worried for her is all. I mean, those five over there don't look overly pleased with having their position of being Queen threatened." Of the five Queens, all of them wore one serious expression or another, but as I looked, none of them looked actually worried, which made me hope that they were underestimating Glory.

Singularity smiled back at me. "She'll be fine. Those bunch of fruit baskets are all too lazy or selfish to actually have any skills. And I'm rooting for Glory as well; I'd like my old job as a venom teacher back, and I can't get that while Magnificent is in charge, ever since that one joke."

When she finished speaking, the Arboretum began to go silent, and we realized that the event was about to begin. I quickly said I'd be right back before going over and standing next to Glory, along with Sunny and Tsunami. During all of this, Tsunami was mildly sulking but still rooting for Glory, due to how if Glory won, it would mean she would be a Queen before Tsunami. Sunny looked over and smiled at me, but due to Fathom's warning, I wasn't sure what to do, so I just smiled a little bit back at her and went over to Glory. I felt a little bad when her smile took a little tip, but I knew it was what had to be done.

As I sidled up next to Glory, she looked over at me. "So are you ready for this?" I asked her. "And I mean all of this. You do realize that if you win, you're going to have a lot more responsibilities."

Glory nodded at me. "Yes, I know. But if it's what needs to be done to keep everyone safe," Glory said, looking around at all of the Rainwings in the stands of the Arboretum, "Then I'll do anything it takes."

I smiled at that. "Just remember that whenever things get tough, both before and after this competition." I nudged her lightly with a wing. "Not go become the Queen that these Rainwings deserve."

Glory smiled at that, then looked over and walked towards the Queens. Between them stood an older looking male Rainwing, who began going into the rules. Things were going well, until they mentioned that Glory was going to need a team to face the Queens. When this was realized, Glory looked mildly surprised before straightening her face, looking serious once more.

After thinking for a moment, Glory began calling out the few Rainwings she knew, and joining her at her side were Kinkajou, Jambu and Mangrove. That left her with needing one more dragon, and as she began looking around with uncertain eyes, Kinkajou reached up and whispered something to her.

Glory nodded before calling out for a dragon named Tamarin, who was immediately wondering why she was called. When Kinkajou flew over to the other small Rainwing, I felt my heart slow down as I saw her I immediately believed Glory might lose the competition, due to Tamarin's eyes, which looked like they had a piece of film in front of them, showing that she was blind.

As Glory looked unsettled as well, the two groups separated so they could decide who would do what event. There was to be events for camouflage, venom, fruit gathering, a flower finding portion, and a race. After a view minutes, the groups separated, with Mangrove and one of the Queens soon leaving to begin fruit gathering in a short time.

While they did that, Jambu and another Queen flew up into the trees, beginning their race. As we watched, Glory, Kinkajou and Tamarin made their way over to us, watching. "So," I whispered, looking to Glory, "Which competition did you put her in?" As I said this, I looked to Tamarin, hoping she didn't hear me.

"I put her in the flower one." Glory said, before sighing. "I wish Kinkajou could have told me she was blind, but supposedly she knows flowers very well."

I smiled at this, before patting Glory on the shoulder. "Then there is no need to worry, hopefully. If things are the same here than where I'm from, then the fact that she is blind means that her other senses are better. The competition is to find a specific flower, yes?" I asked, in which Glory looked at me, puzzled. "Then you'll be all right. Just watch and believe in her."

With this, I went back over to Singularity, who was currently watching the race. "Hey," she said to me without taking her eyes off the race. "I was surprised they chose Tamarin of anyone for this. I've always felt bad for her, and helped her whenever she needed it." I smiled at this. I always felt bad for people with disabilities, and couldn't help but smile whenever I learned of people going out of their way to help them.

After that, we both went back to watching the race. For a while everything was going well, with Jambu clearly in the lead. However, as they were on the final lap, Jambu suddenly was stopped. My eyes widened as I watched, watching as Jambu tried to escape from the vines as the Queen sped past him, meanwhile a sloth began climbing down the tree that he was stuck in.

By the time Jambu escaped the vines, it was too late for him to catch back up, and he lost the race. When they landed, cheating was accused, and I even pointed out the sloth that climbed down the tree, but due to how it couldn't be proven that anyone cheated, the Queens got the point.

I was furious, and I wasn't the only one, with Singularity accidentally hitting me occasionally due to her tail lashing around crazily. However, we could only sit back in silence, watching the competition continue. Thankfully, the next few events went well, with Glory getting wins for the flower and the fruit gathering, though once more it seemed cheating was involved with the fruits, which luckily turned out well for Glory.

And that's how the competition went for a while, ending with just the venom contest, with the two teams tied after Glory unfairly lost the camouflage contest. With the older looking Queen stepping up alongside Kinkajou, I could only hope that she would win. After the first few spits of their venom at targets, I couldn't help but think that Glory was going to lose.

And then everything went horribly wrong.

Time seemed to slow down as the older Queen went to spit, and suddenly a sloth fell out of a tree, landing in front of the target. Kinkajou quickly flew over, trying to get the sloth out of the way in time as the other dragon spat her venom, not realizing what was happening.

As Kinkajou moved the sloth out of the way, the venom landed on her wing, creating three splotches as they landed. Kinkajou had time for her eyes to go wide before she started screaming in pain, her wing beginning to sizzle from the venom.

I was over there in an instant, alongside Glory and the older Rainwing who had shot the venom. As they discussed how to make it stop, which involved venom from a blood relative, I quickly looked around, trying to find a way to make her ignore the pain. I quickly found a stick, in which I forced her mouth over it to make her bite down on that before she hurt her mouth. As I held her as she began squirming in pain, Glory planted a leaf soaked in venom on Kinkajou's wound, making the sizzling stop.

As we stood there, with the older Rainwing staring in shock, Singularity arrived. "Give her to me," she said. "I'll take her to the medical hut and do what I can." I nodded as I handed Kinkajou over to her, in which Singularity began flying as fast as she could with Kinkajou now unconscious from the pain laying in her arms.

After a few minutes of trying to calm everyone down, we all stood in the Arboretum once more. Kinkajou would be alright, though she would have some trouble flying for a bit due to the new holes in her wings. I felt bad for the small dragon, but was glad she would be alright.

Meanwhile, the older Rainwing Queen (who was named Grandeur), was forfeiting her portion of the competition for many reasons. Firstly, due to her accident with Kinkajou. Secondly, it turned out that Glory was an actual relative of Grandeur, and thus actually deserved the throne. Finally, because she hated the other Queens and how none of them took their role seriously.

For a single moment, Glory stood among the Rainwings, now their new Queen as they cheered out for her. During that moment, we all cheered out for her, everyone happy to have Glory as their new Queen, with Sunny, Tsunami and I cheering out for her.

That moment was great, and definitely beautiful with all of the Rainwing's scales changing colors.

That moment was ended when Clay flew up to us in a frenzy, saying that Starflight had run off to warn the Nightwings.

 **Author's Note: Yay, another chapter back on schedule! Woot! So anyways thank you all for your support on this story and your understanding for the late chapters. I should also explain how things are going to work in a couple of weeks. Alright, so I'll be away at a camp not next week, but the week after for two weeks. However, I am planning to prewrite those chapters and get them to post for me, so hopefully they'll be on time, they just won't have a Author's Note like usual. And if my family can't figure it out, I'll just post every chapter needed then at once when I get back. Also, I know many of you like the idea of Sunny x Jack, but I personally don't want to create a relationship with an actual character and my oc, in case Tui T. Sutherland does match someone with her. I thought maybe at first, but now I realize it wouldn't be fair for the original story, which is still being written. I am okay if you want to ship oc's, I would just need the oc owner's permission beforehand. Anyways thank you all for reading this story and for your support (still crossing fingers for fanart, though I haven't been sent any, sadly), and the next chapter will be up next week.**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"So what do you mean Starflight's gone to warn the Nightwings?" I asked Clay. We currently stood on the familiar platform in the Rainforest, and all of the dragonets were there aside from Glory, who was currently learning how to be a Queen. After Clay's initial warning, we had gathered up the dragonets together to talk, and currently Glory's brother Jambu and Mangrove were guarding the cave.

"Clay proceeded to explain how he went to find something to eat, and when he had come back, Starflight was gone. When he was finished, I spoke up, shaking my head. "That's not enough proof to say that he's going to warn them. There is as much chance as he went to the Nightwing Kingdom willingly as there is the chance that he was kidnapped by them."

Tsunami spoke up next. "Yes, but even if that's true, they still might make him tell them what we're planning, and Starflight will tell them everything." She glared off into the distance. "Besides, it's obvious he prefers the Nightwings over his own friends."

I looked at Tsunami angrily. "Do you really believe that? Do you honestly think that Starflight would just abandon all of you just for his own tribe?" At that, Tsunami shifted her gaze to me, though it wasn't as strong as before. "Besides, all of you grew up together. Aren't you basically family? So the better question to ask is if Starflight would betray his family."

At that, Tsunami's glare disappeared, and she looked down at the ground. Sunny decided to speak up next. "Jack's right, Starflight would never just abandon us, or the prophecy. So that means the Nightwings kidnapped him, right? So that means we have to rescue him!"

At this, I shook my head. "No, we can't do that, at least not yet." Sunny looked up at me is surprise. "As much as I agree we need to get Starflight back, we can't just afford to try to get someone as important as him while the Nightwings are already on high alert. If we go after him now, it would be suicide. If we are to rescue him, it will have to wait until we do the mission to rescue the Rainwings."

Clay spoke up once more. "But we might not have that much time. By the time we try to rescue them, the Nightwings might already have learned of our plans to rescue the Rainwings, and will be waiting for us. If we get Starflight back now, they won't know before it's too late."

I shook my head once more. "But it might already be too late. For all we know, Starflight has already told them everything, whether on purpose or not. The bigger question is whether or not he'll accept being rescued when we do go for him. I do know that we need him back for the prophecy, but I have no idea if he'll have actually sided with the Nightwings by the time we get him."

"Honestly, everything depends on how loyal Starflight is." I said, looking at the three dragonets. "If he's really your friend and your family, we will never have anything to worry about. If he thinks of siding with the Nightwings though...then there might be a problem, though I don't belief that will happen."

Tsunami snorted while Clay looked uncertain, but Sunny looked determined. "No, Starflight would never betray us like that." She said. "No matter what happens, he's still one of us, and he would never betray us like that. I'm certain of it."

With that, everyone went quiet, lost in their own thoughts. We soon departed, going off to do our own things until we could discuss this later, this time with Glory's input on what we should do. After all, we were planning a massive mission to rescue several Rainwings, which would also put Rainwing lives on the line. Overall, everything came down to what Glory wanted to do, and what she thought would be best for her tribe.

As we flew off, Sunny followed me , and my thoughts trailed back to what Fathom told me once more. At this point, I was beginning to see what he had meant, with how Sunny followed me almost whenever she could. At first, I thought it was just her being protective after I had died and come back, but now I occasionally saw her giving me a look whenever she thought I wasn't looking, and I knew something had to be done.

The thing was, I had no idea what to do. Sunny didn't know that I knew, but if I waited to turn her down when she finally brought it up, and then denied her, I was afraid of what would happen to our friendship. I knew I had to bring it up with her, but I didn't want to hurt her by denying her. I shook my head as I flew, unsure of what I was supposed to do. Really, the only idea I had was to ask Fathom, since he seemed to know of future events somehow, and would probably know the best way out of this.

Sunny had seen me shake my head as we were flying, and spoke up. "Is something wrong, Jack?" She asked. I looked around quickly, but was glad that she had made sure there were no dragons around before using my real name. We were out in the open, and I was more paranoid then when we were back on the platform. I looked back at her and shook my head.

"No, nothing's wrong. I was just trying to think of ideas of what could be done with the current situation, that's all. I was just dismissing an idea I had." That wasn't fully a lie; I had been thinking almost nonstop of different ideas and strategies of how to get the Rainwings back from the Nightwings without casualties, but so far nothing good had come up.

"Oh, alright." And with that, we flew in silence once more. I was surprised Sunny wasn't asking where we were going, which was the medical shelter. I wanted to see how Singularity and that young Rainwing, Kinkajou, were doing. I also wanted to ask Singularity for ideas, since she knew more about different skills that the Rainwings had.

Sunny and I soon reached the medical hut, in which we let ourselves in. Standing in the room were the medical Rainwings, who were mainly surrounding Kinkajou, who was still unconscious on a bed. Meanwhile, off to one side was Singularity, who was looking at her back leg and was trying to put different amounts of weight on it, testing how much she could do at the moment.

When I walked up to her, her face lit up, which soon turned into a wince of pain as she put too much weight on her back leg. "Hey Static, what do you need?" She asked, smiling once more while casually rubbing her back leg with her tail.

I couldn't help but look at her leg for a second before looking up to answer her. "I just wanted to ask you a few questions and ask for your opinion for a few things." I said. I then pointed down to her leg and gave her a more serious look. "But are you certain you should be trying to walk around on that yet?"

Singularity looked back at her own leg again, then at me. For a second, she looked like she was going to argue or just say she was alright, but after a moment of thinking, she stopped and looked down. "No, I shouldn't. It's just that I hate feeling useless, and that''s how I feel laying in bed all day is all." As she said this, she climbed onto one of the beds, meanwhile taking special care not to put weight on her leg.

I smiled at her. "You shouldn't have to feel useless, Singularity. You were injured in battle, and you're just taking time to recover is all. Heck, you helped not only yourself, but also me to escape that island when you got injured, so there is no reason to feel bad for yourself, alright?"

Singularity looked deep in thought for a second before smiling and nodding. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But enough about that, I guess. So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

With that, I began my conversation with Singularity. We talked for a few hours, with Sunny joining in occasionally. We talked of different Rainwing skills most Rainwings had, along with different ideas about how we could rescue the Rainwings. Having been on the island, Singularity knew more, including how some Rainwings were kept inside the Nightwing's castle for strange experiments.

When asked about these experiments, Singularity shook her head, saying she had only experienced it once, though she had been told more about it by Kinkajou. They had been testing many abilities of Rainwings, but were specifically interested in their venom, doing tests such as distance and what it could or could not melt. I could only ponder why they were doing this, and whether it served an actual purpose or not.

While we talked about the actual island, we also talked a bit about the actual layout of it, such as the locations of everything. Sunny even got us a leaf and fruit to write with (since there was no paper or ink anywhere), and we got a very, very rough map of where the Rainwings were, though there was still a very large margin of both the island and the Nightwing's fortress unknown.

With the rough map, we began to talk strategies and about Rainwing strengths and weaknesses. The obvious strength was their camouflage and their venom, which would be useful. However, that led to two problems, the first being that if a single Rainwing was found, the Nightwings would know something was happening, and be on even higher alert. The second problem was how Rainwings, due to their peaceful nature, would never use it on another dragon, especially to kill them, even though the Nightwings would have no problem killing them.

I sighed, wondering what to do. I didn't want to have the Rainwings kill others, especially if they didn't want to. I liked their peaceful nature, even if it made them a bit lazy. Honestly, if there was a way we could get into their fortress without any of them knowing, and then break out the Rainwings with no casualties on either side, we could have the best possible outcome. Of course, I knew this was probably impossible, but I still wanted it to happen.

As the three of us were sitting there, thinking, with Sunny looking like she was forming an idea in her head, a random Rainwing swooped into the medical hut. She looked over at us and sighed in relief. "Thank goodness the Queen was right about where you were. I don't know where I would have looked next! Anyway, the Queen requests your presence at the treehouse she chose out. Do you know where that is?"

I nodded as I got up. "Yes, I do, thank you." The Rainwing nodded before flying off. I looked back towards Sunny and Singularity, both of whom were getting up. I quickly went over to Singularity, who rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine Static. I don't need help, I just need to remember to keep weight off this leg is all."

I thought for a second before backing off. "Alright, but the second you do need help, I'll be there in an instant, alright? We don't need you getting yourself injured worse, especially with a battle in the coming future."

She rolled her eyes again. "Yes, _mother,_ I'll be sure to keep my leg perfectly safe." She looked at me with a false annoyed look for a second before we both started grinning. As we moved to exit the medical hut, I thought I saw Sunny looking a bit sad, and I began to wonder if it had anything to do with the current problem I still had to deal with.

Of course, I had several problems to deal with, and hopefully I would find ways past them. I could only hope Fathom would be able to help.

 _Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Mudwing Kingdom…_

Scorpion and I were once again on the move. We had made good distance, and according to his map, we would be on the outskirts of the Rainforest within two days. We had been traveling from about dawn to a bit after it gets dark, only taking breaks whenever it seems necessary. Overall, Scorpion had greater stamina than me, but I was able to fly faster than him, so we evened things out between each other.

While flying, we didn't talk that much, unless it was to alert of coming dragons. After a few scouts had been spotted several times, I had officially been marked as the lookout, due to how my vision seemed to be far above average. As we flew along the upper outskirts of what was marked as the Mudwing Kingdom, I shouted out as several large brown dragons were headed our way.

Scorpion looked and saw them, then muttered something under his breath as he looked to me. "I don't think they've spotted us yet, but we shouldn't give them the opportunity. Quickly, fly down into the trees." With that, Scorpion dove down towards the trees, with me quickly following behind. Right before I crashed through the leafs, I saw the Mudwings point and shout in our direction.

When I got down to the forest floor, I quickly found Scorpion and shook my head. "We were too late." I said. "I'm almost certain that those Mudwings are on their way." At that, Scorpion furrowed his brow, but quickly shook his head before taking off one of his bags.

"Alright then, get ready to defend yourself." He said, pulling out a small bag. I quickly proceeded to do the same as he continued. "We will use the spoke pellets when they land. In the confusion, use the sleep darts to take them down. How many did you see in their group?"

I thought for a second before replying. "Four at least, six at most. With that number, should I just toss the darts?" I asked. I had been better at throwing things then shooting them, but Scorpion shook his head.

"No, because unless you get a lucky hit in the softer scales, the darts won't go through. You'll just have to aim quickly and reload the dart gun quicker." At the sounds of wingbeats, he looked up, and then pointed to a bush. "Go hide in there. Be prepared to throw the spoke pellets, and then get shooting. Get the ones that are closest to you, and only take half of them." I nodded, quickly getting into position.

As I settled in the bush, not even seeing where Scorpion went, the Mudwings arrived, landing in the small area. There were five of them, most of which looked full grown. There were three close to me, and I held my breath as one stepped right in front of where I was hiding.

"I don't know Moss, are you sure you saw dragons over here? Cause aside from those broken branches, I don't see any proof of anyone being here. I say that as long as they aren't bothering us, we should just…" The Mudwing didn't get to finish what they were saying as the clearing erupted in smoke, causing them all to shout out is surprise. While they were distracted, I quickly unloaded a couple darts, but I missed with my third shot, leaving a single Mudwing standing in shock and confusion about a minute later.

I quickly tried to get another dart in, but I fumbled and dropped the dart. The Mudwing heard my movement as I quickly went to grab the dart, and began turning in my direction. They jumped at the bush, sending their talons deep into it, but I was already gone by that point.

I cleared my thought from my position behind the Mudwing, and they quickly spun around. They were not expecting me to be there, already jabbing a sleep dart in their softer under scales. They looked down in surprise at the dart, then at me. They had time to look angry and raise their claws down to strike before their eyelids drew heavy and they fell down to the ground, unconscious.

As I stood over the Mudwings, Scorpion came out of the tree canopy, and he looked pleased. "Well done. I wouldn't have shown my face to that Mudwing at the end, but it was still a good move to get him to expose his softer scales. But that doesn't matter anyhow, now that they are all down. Quickly retrieve the darts and we'll be on our way."

I nodded as I went to do just that, first retrieving the dart in the Mudwing in front of me. "So what are these darts even made out of, to put a dragon out so quickly?" I asked, retrieving a few more.

"They're made using a type of toxin from a type of frog in the Rainforest, which is why I don't mind using a few, since we'll be able to make more while we are there. I'll even show you the process, though you'll have to be careful, since one wrong slip will give you hallucinations for days." As he talked, I finished my task. "You'll also have to be on higher alert, since the locals like to use these darts as well on outsiders. On the bright side, if that happens, we'll be lead straight to their village after waking from unconsciousness."

I looked at him strangely at that last comment. "Alright, but I'd still rather just find their village and the dragonets without getting knocked out, thank you. Should we get going again?" I asked.

Scorpion nodded. "Lets." With that, he opened his wings, taking off back into the sky. I looked down at the sleeping Mudwings, not wanting to leave them so exposed, but I knew that I had to keep moving, so I opened up my wings as well, quickly following after Scorpion.

We flew for several more hours, having a few more close calls but never having to see action again, which I was thankful for. When we finally stopped, we were farther away from the Mudwings, since if we had kept going straight down we would have gone straight to their palace, where we would definitely experience problems. We were currently near a mountain range, known as the Claws of the Clouds mountains, since they reached so high that clouds went through them.

When we had set up base for the night, we both went to do our own things. Scorpion as usual went to find us some food while I made a fire, meanwhile afterwards we would sit in mostly silence with the occasional conversation here and there.

While we ate, Scorpion said that we would have to be on the lookout now, since we were still on the outskirts of Mudwing territory, and were on the very edge of Sandwing territory, which was on the other side of the mountain, which meant that Burn's patrols would be around. I nodded, not wanting to be caught by someone with a reputation such as hers.

As we went to do our own things, I went over to my bag of supplies. I rifled through it, searching around until I found what I needed. As I looked at the sleep darts, I wasn't sure how many I would need to use on Scorpion if he had any immunity, and if too much was bad for a dragon. Afterall, I didn't want to have to kill him, just to stop him from following me until I could get the dragonets somewhere safe and they help me get my brother back.

I quickly stored three darts away, hoping that would be enough, seeing as how a single dart could knock out a normal dragon, and how Scorpion was larger than most dragons and might have an immunity. I could only hope it wouldn't kill him, but after everything he had done, and how he viewed life, it might be fine if it did.

I shook my head, trying to get the thought out of my head. I no longer wanted to have to kill anyone, since I knew how Jack would feel if he ever found out. As I finished storing everything away, I could only hope we would get to the Rainforest soon, that way I could find Jack faster.

As I layed down on the ground, using my cloak as a makeshift blanket, I could only hope I would be able to find my brother. Every day, I saw how much danger this world held in it, and with danger lurking behind every corner, I wasn't sure how long Jack would be safe for. I knew he could talk himself out of most situations and even knew how to do some self-defence, but I knew that would only work for so long.

I soon drifted off to sleep, my thoughts focused on finding my brother, knowing what I would have to do to Scorpion the next night to get away from him.

 _Meanwhile, in the dream realm…._

"So what should I do, Fathom? I've been thinking up as many ideas as to what I'm supposed to do, with both this invasion and the Sunny problem, and I honestly have no ideas as to what needs to be done." _I had told Fathom everything that had happened, and how I needed his help with everything that was going on._

 _When we had gone to Glory's place, all of the dragonets were there, along with Grandeur, who was the former actual Queen. We talked for some time, deciding what we should do. We went from one topic to another, from whether or not Starflight was a traitor, to what should be done to rescue the Rainwings, to battle training and plans for the actual invasion. In the end, it was decided that the Rainwings would begin combat training soon, but only in self defence if they were to be found out by the Nightwings._

 _Leading the class would be Tsunami and I, as we were both good in self defence combat (at first, due to my usual peaceful nature, Tsunami was skeptical when I volunteered to teach. However, after a quick sparring match, even though I lost, there were still several times where my abilities shone through, and Tsunami agreed)._

 _Fathom looked deep in thought for a second before replying. "_ Alright, I'll do what I can, but I can't fully help you. I can tell you that with the Nightwings, just be ready in the afternoon tomorrow. That's when things will be progressing faster, and don't worry, it won't be anything bad at first. Also, there will be a way to do it with no violence, you just have to wait until it's suggested."

 _I looked at him, uncertain. "_ Alright, if you say so, though it doesn't make that much sense. But now that that problem is dealt with, what am I supposed to do with Sunny? I see what you meant now, but I have no idea how to turn her down."

 _Fathom smiled at that. "_ When it comes to females, I honestly can't help you, since it is advised you never asks for a male's opinion in the matter. If I offered you advice, my wife would probably yell at me about it later if she could." _He looked a bit sad at mentioning his wife, looking deep in thought._ "There is someone that can help you though, and I think it's about time you met her."

 _When Fathom said that, the scenery began to change. When it was done shifting, we were in some kind library. Around the library were several scrolls, and in the center of the room was a female Nightwing, who was going from one scroll to another, quickly jotting things down before going to another._

 _"_ Jack, I would like you to meet a friend of mine, who is the one helping me with the...problem we're going to face in the future. Jack, this is Clearsight." _With that, the Nightwing looked up from her writing, in which I could see two silver scales like teardrops right next to her eyes._

 _The dragon walked over to us, leaving the quill she was using behind her._ "Why hello, Jack, it's very nice to finally meet you. I've been watching you for a while now with Fathom, and I must say, you are definitely very interesting with your decisions and they impact everything so much." _She clasped her hands together._ "Of course, you're here to ask me some questions, so just ask whatever you need, and I'll answer as much as I can."

 _I looked at Clearsight for a second, uncertain what to ask about first. I decided to ask about Sunny last, and first asked about the scrolls behind her and what she was doing. Her eyes lit up and she looked excited. "_ Oh, those are the scrolls I use to track the most common futures. I only track the most probable futures, but I change them as events change as well. It's how Fathom and I know what will most likely happen when." _She rubbed the back of her head, looking sheepish for a moment. "_ I must admit, I easily lose track of time doing that though. It isn't as bad as my younger days though, where I would panic about every little detail such as how what I ate would impact my actions."

 _I nodded, wondering what it would be like to see the future in such a way, though I could only imagine it as a massive headache. As I went over to see what the scrolls looked like, and wondering if there was anything useful on them, Clearsight quickly stepped in front of me, blocking my view. I sighed, "_ Let me guess, I shouldn't know too much or the future could be affected?"

 _Clearsight grinned at me. "_ Bingo. Fathom and I only tell you what you need to know so that you can aid the dragonets and not get injured yourself." _Her face turned to a concerned one. "_ Which still begs the question as to how I never heard of the dragon that you met that brought you back to life. I should have at least caught a glimpse of her in a vision, but I didn't see anything."

 _Clearsight kept looking puzzled for a moment before focusing her attention back on me. "_ But enough of that, since we only have a limited amount of time before you have to leave. So what is it you needed from me that Fathom here couldn't help you with?"

 _I told her my situation with Sunny, about how I didn't know how to tell her I wasn't interested. Clearsight nodded, though looked over at Fathom with a deadpan look._ "Weren't you married though? I don't see why you can't tell him. Besides, when it comes to relationships…" _Clearsight seemed to be lost in thought, as if thinking about something that had been on her mind for a long time. "_ Well, I guess I'll do what I can."

 _With that, Clearsight and I began our conversation. After talking for a bit, Clearsight helped me to form a plan of what I could do with Sunny in a way that wouldn't break her heart, but wouldn't too badly affect the future. "_ Of course, that's just one possibility." _Clearsight said. "_ Whenever you let her down, there is always a small chance that the worst could happen, but by doing what I just told you, you'll have the highest chance of success."

 _I sighed in relief. "_ I just don't see how by telling her no could lead to all of Pyrrhia being cast into an age of fire, but alright." _And now it was my turn to give Fathom a deadpan look. "_ And really, why couldn't you just tell me that all I had to do was tell Sunny I wasn't interested? Now that I think about it, even though it will be awkward, that really is the best solution." _Fathom looked flabbergasted as suddenly the world began to shift._

 _I turned towards Clearsight as the dream slowly began to fade. "_ It was nice to finally meet you Clearsight, and thank you for your advice on what I should tell Sunny."

 _Clearsight nodded at me as the world began to go dark. "_ And it was a pleasure to meet you as well. We will definitely have to talk again in the future. Talking to someone other than Fathom after all this time is...refreshing, and helps to get me out of my notes. Just remember, you have to tell Sunny by tonight, that way certain actions can take place and certain consequences won't occur."

 _I nodded in agreement, not liking the idea of everything being on fire. As everything went dark, I could only feel relief at having this problem to to be over with. Sunny and I would still be friends if this worked out, though she would be upset for a amount of time. Basically, the plan was to just tell Sunny I had seen the signs and that I wasn't interested, but I still wanted to be friends._

 _I was about to friendzone Sunny, and when I phrase it like that, I feel bad, but I knew it had to be done. If only I had known how much it would affect things in the coming days._

 **Author's Note: Alright, so this is the last official author's note for 2 weeks, since I'll be at camp. I should mention that the next two chapters will hopefully be on time, since I have 2 plans to get them uploaded. If both plans fail, I'm sorry in advance, though you'll have 2 chapters at once when I get back, but only if it doesn't work. I also need to add a reminder that I thought I mentioned before, but if I wasn't clear I do apologize: I am currently not accepting anymore oc's, since I have all that I need for the story at present. I am sorry if you wanted to see your character in the story, but at the moment, the only oc's I've accepted and will be accepting for this story are Pryope (by Skillrider), Rivlet (Skillrider again, though I must note that I didn't know that he had submitted Pryope and Rivlet both, and should be the only person with 2 oc's. I tried to make it even with just one oc each person, but I wasn't paying attention. I'll still use both characters though, since I already have the story planned with them.), Frostbite (by Davidrain1234), Aster; Singularity (by Trason), Tempest (by Kiara Walker), Scorpion (By Divine The Withered Soul) and Asteroid {w/ mention of sister Comet} (by I am Moonsong). Those are all the oc's that will be in my story, and that is set, and I apologize to anyone else's oc's that can no longer be included. Anyways, thank you all for reading my story and for all of your support (I do wonder if any can do fanart though…), and the next chapter will hopefully be up next week.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

When I woke up the next day, it was to Tsunami shaking me awake. "Jack, come on, wake up." I lifted my head up, giving her a confused and tired look as I woke up. "Come on, we have to start gathering Rainwings for their training."

I looked up at the sky, seeing it was barely morning, and as I looked around, I didn't see any movement from any Rainwings, which meant they were probably still asleep. I gave Tsunami a deadpan look. "Tsunami, look, I understand that you want to get started early, but not only would no Rainwing get up this early, but they probably wouldn't even listen to you. We have to wait for both them and Glory to wake up, that way she can get them to listen to us."

Tsunami shook her head. "Glory already gathered the whole tribe yesterday and informed them that starting today they would begin training to rescue the other Rainwings. They're all supposed to meet with us later, but I figured that since we'll be training a large portion of the tribe, we need to decide how many dragons we each teach, and what we teach them."

I looked at Tsunami tiredly, before rolling my eyes. "Alright, but we're going to give them more time to sleep. You and I can talk about what we do, but we're going to wait until the designated time to actually begin the training." I looked around, seeing how everyone else was still asleep. "What is the designated time, anyway? And how early is it right now?"

Tsunami shrugged, sitting down where she was, with me following her example. "It's first thing in the morning. And Glory designated the training to be a few hours before noon, when their sun time is, that way they can train, have sun time, then begin training once more." (Sun time was the Rainwing's designated time of the day to rest under the sun, that way they could recharge energy like a plant.)

I nodded. "That's reasonable, at least. Alright, so how many Rainwings agreed to learn to fight, and what do you want us to teach them?" That's how things went that morning, with Tsunami and I talking about our teaching lesson. We eventually took a break, finding some fruit to eat for a short break, in which we then continued our planning as other dragons began to wake up.

Eventually, the whole village was moving, and before long, Tsunami and I were standing in a large clearing with Sunny, Clay, Glory, and about over a hundred Rainwings. I was quite impressed with the turnout, surprised that so many dragons were willing to change their personal views just so that they could save their fellow Rainwings. I looked over to Glory, proud of the fact that she was able to get the Rainwings to her side.

Glory stepped forwards, addressing the Rainwings. She talked to them about why they were here, and what was going to be happening. Tsunami and I had talked to Glory about our plans, in which we all came to an agreement of what was going to be done. The Rainwings would be separated into two groups, and in the morning one group would train with me and the other would train with Tsunami. Then, after sun time, the groups would switch teachers. I would be teaching self defence, meanwhile Tsunami would be teaching combat.

Somehow, I felt like I was going to be the more liked teacher.

When Glory was finished speaking, the Rainwings had been separated into two groups, with about fifty dragons in each group. The first group went with Tsunami to another area, meanwhile the second group stayed with me. Clay went along with Tsunami, meanwhile Sunny was with me and Glory went off to do whatever it is Queens do. Sunny was there as my assistant, and began to help me organize the Rainwings.

In the end, I had them in lines of ten, which left them all standing in front of me, waiting for what I had to say. I flew up to a tree so I could see all of them, and began speaking loud enough that they could hear me. "Alright everyone, I would like to thank you for deciding to aid in helping your fellow Rainwings. My name is Static, and I'll be teaching you basic self defence. Self defence is just as it sounds, which basically means that if a hostile dragon attacks you, you'll be able to defend yourself. Are there any questions before we get started?"

There were a few more hands raised when I asked that than I was hoping for, and I began answering questions. For the most part, they asked what the difference between the two classes were, why we couldn't just try peace, and if someone could quickly grab a mango to eat. After about thirty minutes, the questions were all answered, and it was time to begin the training.

I started off by showing basic side steps and blocks, and we went through those for about an hour and a half. During that, there were several dragons that asked for breaks for water, food, or just a break in general. I told them that they could all take a break soon, but didn't let them until we were done.

After that, while everyone was resting, I began to demonstrate with Sunny basic maneuvers and the ways the blocks could be applied, and had all of the Rainwings partner up. During that time, there were several dragons that of course paired up with friends, and this weren't as on task. Sunny and I straightened them out, and we even let the Rainwings that stayed on task the whole time (the few of them there were) an early break.

After that, the Rainwings went off to relax and do their sun time, which left me time to figure out how to improve my training for the next group. As I sat in a tree, listening to the sounds of the rainforest, lost in thought as I thought to myself how ironic it was I was eating a dragonfruit, Sunny flew up to the tree and sat in a sturdy branch across from me.

Before she could say anything, I just decided it was time to get it over with. "Sunny, I need to talk to you about something." Sunny looked up from her perch, where she was holding what looked like a cantelope.

"Sure, what do you need to talk about, Jack?" After she asked that, she took a bite of the fruit, looking up at me expectantly while she chewed.

Now this was the part I didn't exactly know what to do about, so I decided to just blurt it all out at once and get it over with. "Look Sunny, I've noticed the way that you've been acting around me, and the occasional glances you give me whenever you think I'm not looking, and I know that you think you might love me, but I don't want that, I just want us to be friends, and this is really awkward and please don't be mad."

I had looked away from her about halfway through, not being able to look at her as surprise and shock filled her face when I revealed what I knew. Silence reigned for a long time, neither of us speaking. When I finally looked over to the tree where Sunny was, I noticed that she was no longer there, having gone off sometime when I wasn't looking.

I sighed, both in relief and in sadness. I didn't want to have to do that to Sunny, but I knew that it had to be done. It wasn't just because of the prophecy that I had to turn her down, but it was also because I still needed to find a way home, and when I did find a way, I wouldn't want to have to leave any relationships behind.

I looked up and into the rainforest, lost in thought again. When I thought about it, I knew it would be hard, leaving all of these dragons that I had come to be friends with, and any dragons I befriend along the way. It would be hard, but I knew it would have to be done; I had to get home to my family, especially to my sister, who was probably worried sick.

I sat in that tree for a long time, lost in thought, and at one point even humming a song to myself. When you're told the worst possible situation of friendzoning someone is the land being cast into flames, " _I don't want to set the world on fire"_ is a very fitting song.

Eventually, as the next group of Rainwings showed up, I knew it was time to get down. When I flew down, I was surprised to see Clay standing there. "Sunny wanted to trade places for the second class." He said. I nodded in agreement, knowing that Sunny would need some space after what just happened.

The class went by over the course of a few hours, with the second group doing well, except for the fact that they were more easily distracted. They wanted to take more breaks than the other group, but I once again told them to hold on, and once again rewarded those that stayed on task the entire time, though that number was fewer this time.

At the end of the class, the Rainwings dispersed to do whatever it was that Rainwings did in their free time. They weren't done for the day of course; they all had an extra class with Tsunami later as one large group, and tomorrow would be my day for the extra class. I sighed in relief as the last Rainwing left, since now I could finally take a break.

...Or at least that was the plan, until Jambu appeared and told me it was my turn to guard the Nightwing cave. I thanked him for reminding me, and as he flew off I began heading towards the cave, mumbling mildly under my breath about how we really needed to work on those cave rotation schedules.

When I got to the cave, I was surprised to see who my current partner was. "Singularity, should you really be on guard duty while your leg is still healing?" When I spoke up, Singularity looked away from the cave, a smile on her face.

She rolled her eyes at my question. "Of course I should, since I'm one of the few Rainwings willing to use my venom. And really, as long as I keep most of my weight on my other leg, I'll be fine. Anyways, I just really wanted an excuse to get out of that medical hut." She let out an over exaggerated sigh. "It was already bad enough that I had to work there, but then being forced to just lay on a bed in there all the time?" She pretended to shiver, making me roll my eyes.

"Oh yes, you poor unfortunate soul, how horrible it must be to be able to just sit back and relax for a few days while you recover from an injury." I sat down next to her, keeping an eye on the strange cave and the odd feeling it emanated. "I don't even know why Glory gave you permission to be part of the rotation out here, seeing as how you're recovering still."

"It involved standing around her room for a long time and making silly jokes until she relented." Singularity said, grinning at me. "But enough about me. How did your first day teaching the Rainwings how to fight go?" At my groan, her smiled dipped a bit. "That bad, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "It wasn't too bad, I guess. But they seriously need to work on their focus and staying on task. I mean, it's alright to have a break here and there, but every five minutes? And if they've lived in a rainforest all their lives, why does every single butterfly fascinate them?"

Singularity giggled a bit at that. "Yeah, most of them don't have a very large attention span at times, though I feel like with all of the changes that Queen Glory is planning, that will hopefully change in the future. So, anything of any note happen while you were teaching? A dragon falling on their face? Someone tripping over another's tail?"

I rolled my eyes again, and that's how that shift went. Singularity and I talked the whole time, going from one topic to another while we kept our eyes fixed on the cave. It was nice, talking to her, and it was surprising how fast the time went by, and it was time for her to switch out with the next dragon.

However, I was not expecting who the next dragon I would have to work with was, though in hindsight, I should have expected it. I stared into the cave, not letting my gaze wander as I heard someone take a seat next to me. I took a quick glance and saw that it was Sunny, who had her full attention on the cave. I looked away, looking back at the cave as awkward silence continued, with only the sounds of the rainforest around us.

After an extended amount of time, Sunny spoke up, breaking the silence. "Look, Jack, I understand that there are probably many reasons why you turned me down, and I at least have to thank you for being honest." She sighed, before continuing. "It's just...hard, right now, I guess. I've never met anyone like you before, and you just fascinate me with everything about you."

"Sunny, I'm no one special, not really. And I'm not being modest about that either, because even though you think I'm this perfect person, I'm really not. Sunny, have you ever thought to yourself _why_ I don't want to have to fight? Why I don't want to kill?"

Silence reigned for another minute, before she spoke up. "I imagine it's for a good reason, but whatever that reason is, it doesn't affect how you are and more importantly _who_ you are. You are a good person Jack, no matter what you think."

"Sunny, I've killed a person in cold blood." When I said that, I nearly choked up, but I said it seriously and clearly. Sunny stopped speaking, and when I looked over, I could see the surprise on her face. I looked back at the cave as I continued. "It was out of self defence, technically, but that doesn't change what happened. That man is dead, and it's my fault."

"But surely there was a good reason!" Sunny said. "Surely there was some reason you did that!" I nodded slowly, in which she sounded determined. "Then tell me."

It took a moment, but I slowly relayed the story about when I killed, and why I believed in self defence. When it was over, we were both quiet, neither knowing what to say. Sunny was the first to speak up. "But Jack, you did that to save your sister. If you hadn't done something, who knows what would have happened to both you and her."

I shook my head. "But I could have shot him in the arm or the leg, and he would have lived. Instead, it was the heart, and now he is dead, and it's my fault." I looked down at my hands. "Every time I think I've forgotten about that moment, it comes back, and I remember the experience all over again." I stared back into the cave. "The point is Sunny, I'm not perfect like you think I am. Leave it be."

Sunny shook her head once again. "But if it wasn't for that action, you would still believe that violence is the answer. You've learned by experience Jack, but you shouldn't let that experience control you. What's done is done, and time can't be turned back. That man is dead, yes, but you and especially your sister are safe, and you've learned a lesson. Don't let the past rule your life, Jack."

I didn't want to agree, but I knew she was right. I nodded in agreement. "You are right, and it's about time I let that go. But while we're on this kind of topic, what about you? Are you okay, even though I turned you down?"

There was more silence, and at this point I was starting to hate silence in general, but Sunny nodded. "Yes, I'll be fine. Besides, I still have a prophecy to fulfill, so I shouldn't focus on relationships just yet." She then smiled, which I was glad to see. "And then we have to find you a way home, of course." Her smile took a slight dip at that. "It'll be sad, seeing you leave."

I nodded at that. "I know I won't be happy about it either. I've made some great friends here, and I'm going to be sad, saying goodbye to everyone. But I do need to get back to my sister and my family."

We were silent for another moment before Sunny looked over to me. "Jack, you always mention your sister and the rest of your family, but don't you have any friends waiting for you as well?" At my pained expression, she quickly began to apologize, but I stopped her.

I sighed before answering. "Technically, no. I used to have friends, yes, but shortly before this all happened and I was taken into this world, most of my friendships began to fall apart. For the most part, it was just because none of us really talked any more, though there were one or two arguments. I was fine though, cause I had begun to become a loner, except for my sister."

Sunny grinned at that. "With how many of us you've befriended, I never would have imagined you as the lonner type." I rolled my eyes at that. "But still, Jack, I've been thinking, and maybe…" Sunny was cut off as I quickly raised a claw to my mouth, shushing her as I glared into the cave.

"I swear I just saw something move." I whispered, and as I looked, I saw something, three somethings actually, coming from the cave to the exit, and quickly. "Move, quickly!" I whispered quickly to Sunny, in which she moved behind the cave, with me doing the same on the other side.

Not a moment after we had, three dragons burst out of the cave, but instead of flying forward or up, they all crashed onto the ground. I looked out from behind the cave, and when I saw Sunny do the same, I motioned my head towards the dragons, in which she nodded, and we closed in on them.

We weren't surprised to see two Nightwings there, but we were surprised to see a Skywing among them, along with one of the Nightwings, upon closer inspection, to be Starflight, and the third dragon was an unknown female Nightwing. I quickly stopped thinking out loud as I noticed the silver scales by her eyes.

Sunny quickly went over to Starflight, and they had a little reunion hug. When they were done, I went up to him. "Alright, quick question, just to make sure: you're not here to betray us, are you?"

Starflight looked confused before shaking his head. "Of course not, why would I betray you or my friends?" He shook his head before looking serious. "Please believe me, Static." When he said that, he took a glance at the other two dragons. "We need to act quickly. But before I say anything, that Skywing there needs the Sandwing antidote."

Sunny walked up to us. "I can take him there. Static, you take Staarflight and his friend to Glory. From the way he's talking, this is serious." Starflight and I nodded in agreement. While I opened my wings to take off, Starflight went over and talked to the other Nightwing, who was currently looking fascinated by everything she was seeing. When I was sure that they were ready, I took off, and sure enough, they began to follow me.

We traveled back to the Rainwing village, Starflight telling me everything that had happened to him since the day that Glory became Queen. Turns out that our assumption that he was kidnapped was correct. He was taken to the Nightwing island, which is, as predicted, an active volcano that could go off at any time. A bunch of stuff happened then, such as finding a jealous sister and a scientist father who didn't see the problem in torchering Rainwings. After that, he was forced into telling the Nightwings about Glory's plan, in which they planned to attack the rainforest tonight, due to some plan.

When I asked about what their plan was, Starflight shook his head, saying that he would rather say it when we got to Glory, that way he wouldn't have to repeat himself. I nodded, and let him continue. It turned out that not only was Morrowseer there as well, but he also had replacement dragonets of destiny. They had actually tried to get Tsunami earlier, since the replacement Seawing had left, but according to Starflight, he had used something to warn Glory, which probably explained why Tsunami could still be heard in the distance yelling at Rainwings.

Speaking of the replacement dragonets, the Nightwing with Starflight introduced herself as Fatespeaker, who was going to be Starflight's replacement. However, after seeing what the Nightwings were doing to the Rainwings, along with learning that Starflight was the actual Nightwing for the prophecy, she had switched to his side, wanting to help us.

I was glad to have more allies, but while talking to Fatespeaker, something about her seemed strange. She kept on making odd future predictions, such as us all going to be alright, which I was fine with, but then getting a walrus to eat. I looked at her strangely at that, wondering what walruses even had to do with the current situation.

When we finally reached Glory's place of residence, my eye was starting to twitch and I was sure that if Fatespeaker and Tempest ever met, they would become instant friends. Sure, it didn't seem Fatespeaker was insane, just, if she actual was seeing the future, she was only seeing odd future's, or she was just mistaking her imagination as the future.

Anyway's, when we went inside, Glory was surprised and happy to see Starflight again, glad it wasn't a dream (since as mentioned by Starflight, he had visited her before in her dreams, which I began to wonder what would happen if someone visited my dreams while I was talking to Fathom). Starflight was going to tell her about what the Nightwings were planning, but Glory told him to wait until the other dragonets could get there.

After some time, we were all together once more, though this time with the addition of Fatespeaker, Mangrove and Grandeur. Starflight began to tell us everything that had happened to him once again, though this time revealing what the Nightwings were planning. They were going to invade the rainforest that night, and take it from the Rainwings. They were planning on killing almost all of them so they would have the rainforest as a new home, before the volcano erupted.

When he was done, Glory was pacing, and everyone was unsure of what to do. If Starflight was correct, then we would have to raise a counter attack before they left the island, and rescue the Rainwings tonight. After I thought about that, Glory nodded, saying that that was what the plan was going to be.

Almost everyone had objections. The big thing was that the Rainwings were nowhere near ready for combat, having only had a day of training. The next objection was about if we could do it without casualties, which was almost certain. Another objection was about where the Nightwings would go if they couldn't have the rainforest, since their lives were in danger. Glory said they would just have to find somewhere else to live, since they were planning mass genocide for the Rainwings.

As we discussed about how we could invade, no one seemed to notice Sunny trying to say something. As we suggested and objected several ideas, I saw Sunny whisper in Clay's ear, in which his head shot up and he screamed out "Sleep darts!"

While Sunny relayed the idea of the Rainwings using their sleep darts, I thought about how genious of an idea it was, and why we hadn't thought of it earlier. Afterall, it was not only a way things coul be done peacefully and without casualties, but it was almost assured to work, since according to the Rainwings present, almost all of the Rainwings had skills in using a blowgun.

With the new plan ready and a war on the horizon, we all departed, going to prepare for that night, when we would attack the Nightwings first, and rescue the Rainwings.

 _Meanwhile, not far from the borders of the rainforest..._

We were nearing the rainforest after another day of flying, with only a few more close calls with Mudwing soldiers, though we didn't have to fight again. As we reached the outskirts of the rainforest, Scorpion decided to land, in which I followed him.

When we landed in a small clearing, Scorpion turned to me. "Alright, we're going to take the rest of the day to take a break and prepare for the coming days, when we'll be scouting out the rainforest. I don't know how long we're going to be in there for, so we're going to rest now and let our wings recover before we head in." He looked up in the sky. "Still have a few hours before nightfall, so take a quick break before we do some combat exercises." I nodded, going to find something to drink before we fought.

After finding a small stream and taking a drink, I came back and practised with Scorpion as normal. I put all of my effort into it as usual to keep him from thinking that something was wrong, but I could only think about what I was going to do that night, now that we were at the rainforest, and how I was going to do it.

I couldn't just use the darts on him directly, since he would be able to fight back. I couldn't use the dart gun, since that took time to use and I wouldn't be able to use all three darts before it was too late. As I fought, an idea came to mind, and I knew what I was going to do.

That night, as Scorpion went out to find something to eat, I quickly grabbed some wood and threw it together, making a quick fire. Once that was done, I had time to go through my plan, but I had to act quickly. I quickly pulled out my dart gun and the darts I had saved, and then went over to Scorpion's bag, sorting through it until I found his dart gun. I then quickly grabbed some small circular rocks, using them to plug one end of each dart gun firmly. I then filled them each with a bit of water, and then put the darts in after them, then mildly plugged the other ends but not as firmly.

As I went over to the fire, digging out a place to hide the dart guns, I could only hope my plan would work. What I was doing was making it so that the fire would turn the water in the blowguns to steam, which would build up pressure at the bottom and send the darts flying out the looser end. Once I had the dart guns angled in Scorpion's usual sitting spot across from me, I buried them so that only the ends stuck out. The only problem with this plan was the timing, since not only was I relying on them both to go off at the same time, but to launch them at Scorpion at a speed high enough to penetrate his scales, in which I would have to manually throw the third dart.

Thankfully, Scorpion returned soon, carrying what looked like a large monkey. He quickly prepared it before putting it over the fire, allowing it to cook. I watched as thankfully Scorpion sat right in front of the dart guns, and then acted as if nothing was wrong.

Everything went as normal for a while after that, with us grabbing some food and talking as normal. However, as a small whistling sound began to sound, I got a better grip on the dart I was hiding, and prepared to move. While Scorpion looked curiously at the fire, two small pops went off, and I jumped over the fire a second later, much to the surprise of Scorpion.

However, Scorpion is used to reacting quickly, and moved out of the way as I landed in front of him. He had time to look in confusion at the two darts sticking out of him before a look of anger crossed his face and he charged at me. I let him though, grabbing the clawed hand he threw at me.

He was expecting my counter, though, and just like the first time I had met him, he through me down to the ground. He pinned me down and glared at me. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but let me tell you that you've made a mistake, girlie. Not only does it take more than two darts to take me down, but you've lost."

I grinned up at him. "No, you've lost." I glanced down at his chest, where a third dart stuck out, matching the other two. He had time to look surprised before he started to drop off of me. Before he landed, he grinned and whispered "Nice job."

I got up, surprised that I had actually won, and was almost certain he was going to get back up at any second. But he didn't, and after a few minutes it was clear that he would be sleeping for a while. I quickly went over and grabbed some rope out of his bag, and went back over to him. After about a half hour, I was done, and Scorpion was tied to a tree in front of the stream I had found. I made sure to use his fireproof rope, had tied his claws as well, so he couldn't use them. I also tied the knot far up in the tree, and with his claws tied up he wouldn't be able to untie it. He could just burn the tree down, so after a second of thought, I found a rock instead, and did the same thing.

Knowing Scorpion, it wouldn't hold him forever, but it would buy me time for when he woke up. I went over to the fire, putting it out before grabbing my stuff, and after a second of thought, I grabbed Scorpion's bag as well. When this was all done, I stood in the center of the clearing, and let out a sigh of relief. I then looked up in the sky, looking to see what the strange Sandwing had meant by the stars guiding me.

It was a bright night, and after a second, I saw a line of stars that were brighter than the others that pointed in the direction of the Rainforest. Having no other leads to follow on, I went in that direction, entering the rainforest in hope that I would soon find the dragonets, that way I could warn them and so they could help me find my brother.

 **Author's Note: Sorry if it feels like this chapter is a bit rushed for the 4th book, but I honestly don't know how I could do much for that book, since it takes place mostly on the Nightwing island, which my character has no access to until next chapter. Anyway's thank you all for your support on the story, and the next chapter will hopefully be up next week, if this chapter is on time that is. If it isn't I apologize once again, but if this chapter is late, it at least means the next chapter is already up, so...yeah. THANKS.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

We stood in the clearing where the tunnel to the Nightwing kingdom stood. Standing here with us at night were all of the dragonets, Fatespeaker, so she could lead the Rainwings to the prisoners with Starflight, and almost the whole Rainwing tribe, all of which had their dart gun and a bag that would soon be full of sleeping darts.

It had taken the rest of the day, but Glory had alerted her tribe of what was going to be done tonight, both what the Nightwings were planning and with how the rescue invasion would occur now. There would be an actual speech soon, but now the whole tribe was ready to face the Nightwings.

It was a bright night, with the moonlight lighting up the clearing, but there were also several torches set up. The torches were there for two reasons, the main being for light, the second so that the Rainwings could see what it looked like and be told to avoid it. Honestly, I was still very worried about having the Rainwings go, but I knew it had to be done.

I was currently standing with Sunny and Singularity, helping them to pass out sleeping darts. Sunny would be doing this alongside Singularity the rest of the night throughout the invasion, but I would be going along in the frontal assault as backup, in case any Nightwings with armor showed up, thanks to my lightning.

Singularity wasn't exactly happy about staying behind, but not only was she only an average shot with a blowgun, but she also was still recovering on her leg. She could mildly walk now, but she still couldn't put too much weight on it. I managed to convince her to stay behind by telling her I'd get her a Nightwing helmet as a souvenir, and, after out of character being asked, promising to stay safe, in which we hugged, which also seemed out of character, but I guess she was just worried about something going wrong.

I sighed as I passed out a few more darts, knowing she was right. Anything could go wrong with this invasion, with how rushed the plan was. Starflight had given us a better map of the whole island, and we had a basic route to get in and get the Rainwings. However, not only were a few in the Nightwing lab, but one of the former queens, the very first Rainwing to go missing, was in a different prison deeper in the fortress, along with Deathbringer, who Glory wanted to save since she felt she owed it to him.

Personally, I agreed with her, though many of the dragonets weren't as sure. Sure, he had led Clay and I to Glory and hadn't decided to assassinate them, and it turned out he even aided Starflight before he was locked away, but they still weren't sure they could trust them. Glory and I understood that, since there was no way to fully know if he truly was on our side, but Glory still planned on freeing him, and I was going to help in whatever way I could.

Finally, the time of times came, and Glory stepped forwards to address the Rainwings and give them a speech before we began. The dragonets and I stood behind her as she explained her plan. We would be going in one by one as groups, with the first group purely Rainwings to deal with the guards at the other end of the tunnel. The next group consisted of me, Starflight, Fatespeaker, and Glory, along with a couple of other Rainwings. We would go in to guide the way, meanwhile I would protect the others. After that, more Rainwings would go in and follow us to the Rainwings, and then be shown how to free them before we would go rescue the other Rainwings ourselves.

The only problem I had, along with the dragonets, was that Glory was not only going, but was in the second but more important group. We were the group more likely to face danger, and the Nightwings already knew that Glory was the most dangerous Rainwing, and now that she was queen she would be in even more danger. However, none of us could talk her down, and her final decision was that she was coming with us.

When Glory finished speaking, everyone went about to do their own thing to get ready. I went over with Glory and Starflight, eager to get going. However, as I got over there, I saw Starflight pull Sunny to the side. I figured it was something that he wanted to say to her, so I let them talk while I went to talk with Glory, who was currently standing in front of the tunnel.

"You ready for this?" I asked her. "I mean, if we're successful, it means there will be no casualties on either side, along with us getting all of the Rainwings back peacefully. Also, what's your plan when all is said and done? The Nightwings could still come through the tunnel after they realize what's happened."

Glory shook her head. "No, they won't. Once every Rainwing is back through the tunnel and everyone is safe, then we're going to destroy the tunnel to keep them from coming back through it." She sighed. "However, since they're willing to go so far to have the rainforest, they just might try again someday, though this time they'll have to fly here."

I nudged her with my wing, trying to reassure her. "Hey, I'm sure you can think of something. Maybe if we formed a peace treaty with them or something? Of course, that might have to wait till after the war is stopped of course, but it's still a nice idea."

Glory smiled. "Yes, if we could find a peaceful way to settle things, everything will turn out alright. It will take time though; I can't imagine they're going to be overly happy though, with what we're going to do, but since they were going to kill my entire tribe, I think they deserve their island a bit longer."

I grimaced at that. "Yes, but you have to remember Glory, they're probably doing this out of desperation. You saw how horrible that island was, and I saw how the Nightwings were living because of it, with Starflight even experiencing it. They're starving and probably have problems with their lungs due to the smoke, and their population is slowly dropping according to Starflight. Somehow, I just wish there was another way, because it seems like by saving one tribe, we're dooming another."

Glory sighed. "They made their decision when they declared war against us. I agree, they do need to find a new place to live, but they can't live here, not if they're willing to kill the Rainwings for it." I nodded sadly in agreement. She nudged me with her wing, trying to reassure me like I had with her moments earlier. "Well, come on, it's time for us to go."

I nodded, following Glory. She nodded towards the tunnel, where a few Rainwings, one of which was Jambu, nodded back, and sank into the tunnel depths. When Glory and I got there, Starflight, Fatespeaker and a few other Rainwings stood ready. We all lined up at the tunnel, waiting for the other Rainwings that went forward to give us the all clear.

After a few minutes of waiting, they came back, telling us that the guards at the front were sleeping, and that there was little sign of activity, since the Nightwings were probably getting ready to go to war. With everything good to go, our group went into the tunnel, with the official rescue mission for the Rainwing prisoners having begun.

 _Meanwhile, in the middle of the Rainforest, not far from the tunnels…_

I had been wandering the Rainforest for what felt like hours, and it was clearly night now. I had kept going in the direction the stars had pointed me towards, though even after several hours of walking, I still hadn't found anything.I was finding it annoying, having to walk through the Rainforest, since the mud and insects crawling around wasn't exactly pleasant, but I couldn't fly since the trees were too close together and my wings were too large to fly through them.

As I began thinking of stopping for the night, I thought I saw what looked like light in the distance. Curious as to if I had finally found something, I kept walking forwards. What I came across when I finally got to the source of the light was not at all what I was expecting. There was a semi-large clearing, and all around it were the dragons known as Rainwings, with their scales all sorts of colors.

I hid behind a bush, watching them with wonder, such as to what they were all doing in a random clearing so late at night. What was even stranger was that groups of them, though the groups were small and only a few groups went in before more came out, were going into a tunnel that was dug into a tree, and yet I could see the other side of the tree from where I was standing.

As I watched with curiosity, I didn't notice the shape creeping up behind me, which suddenly grabbed me and threw me out into the open. I twisted around in confusion, landing on my back while staring up at a first confident then confused Seawing. "You're not a Nightwing spy." She then looked at me closer. "And you're not Static either. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

I slowly started to get up, and when I did, I found the Seawing, a Mudwing and a Sandwing surrounding me, mostly with confusion on their faces. "My name is...Spark, and I'm looking for the dragonets of destiny. If I had to guess though, I'd say that I found them."

"Yeah, so you found us, but why are you here, and more importantly, _how_ did you find us?" The Seawing asked. "If you found us, than other dragons could as well, so get talking." At this point, she was almost right in my face, but the Mudwing held a wing up, getting her to step back.

"Look, the way I found you both can't be used by other dragons and isn't important. The main thing that is important is that Blister has sent an assassin after you, and he is currently on the outskirts of the rainforest, tied up and asleep, though I don't know how long that will hold him." I breathed out, catching my breath. "I'm also looking for the dragon that you mentioned, Static."

The Sandwing spoke up. "Thank you for warning us about the assassin. That will give us time to prepare for him. But why do you need to find Static? Do you know him? And if so, how? I'm asking this because you're the only other dragon that looks like him."

"If Static is who I believe he is, then yes, I know him. The how...is a long story. To say the least, I'm not from around here." That seemed to make their eyes open wide, meanwhile I continued. "Look, I just really need to find him, and I was told that you dragonets would be able to lead me to him, so do you know where he is?"

They looked at each other for a moment before the Sandwing spoke up again. "Look, Spark, you've arrived at a kinda bad time. Static is with us, but he's currently on the other side of that tunnel, aiding in a rescue mission of sorts. We can go get him, once we're sure that all of the Rainwings are across, but that will have to wait. We have time though, so why don't you tell us your story...Sara, if I'm correct."

My eyes opened wide at that, surprised that she knew my name. "So that means that Static really is Jack…" I mumbled under my breath. I sighed in relief, now that I was so close to finding my brother. "Alright, I'll tell you everything that's happened so far."

I then told to them my whole story, starting from my investigation into Jack's disappearance, to finding myself in this strange world, to following Blister to her base of operations, to learning to become an assassin, all the way to entering the forest.

When I was done, the three of them stood in silence, all of which with their own reactions. The Seawing, who was Tsunami, was lashing her tail, outraged that I was tricked into helping Blister and how I didn't know the location of Blister's base. When flying in and out, I was blindfolded so I couldn't see. The Mudwing Clay looked to be deep in thought, meanwhile the Sandwing Sunny was glad that I had made it alright and now I had finally found my brother.

Speaking of which, Clay looked over to the tunnel, in which a random Rainwing waved to him. He nodded before talking to Tsunami and Sunny, telling them that they needed to go through the tunnel, since something had happened. They nodded, with Sunny looking mildly worried before walking away, but Sunny quickly turned to me. "We're going to go through the tunnel, and when we get back, Jack should be with us." I nodded, smiling and thanking her.

 _Meanwhile, in the Nightwing kingdom, an hour earlier…_

We had flown through the tunnel, and had come out to the volcanic terrain on the other side. I wasn't sure at first, but it felt even worse that the first time I was there, as if the smoke was denser somehow. I ignored it though, taking shallow breaths as we continued through the air, passing by the unconscious Nightwings that lay by the tunnel, their weapons taken back to the rainforest.

We flew towards the chasm where the Rainwings were being held as prisoners, with the Rainwings following us as we went into the first prison. We had to clear out a guard, who thankfully went down due to a dart before they alerted anyone, and we quickly showed the Rainwings how to free those that were currently chained up.

Glory pointed towards the Rainwings that were with us, who were told to disguise as Nightwings and to go back to the tunnel, that way they could continually show the Rainwings how to free the rest of them. After that, Glory pointed Fatespeaker to another group, that way she could lead them to the lab where the other Rainwings were being held.

Soon, it was just Glory, Starflight and myself, flying towards the Nightwing fortress, on our way to talk to the Queen. It wasn't exactly the best plan, but who else could you tell that the Rainforest was off limits and ask for directions towards the special prisoners? I had to agree with Starflight that it was extremely foolish to have Glory with us for this, but she disagreed, saying that she needed to talk to the Nightwing queen herself.

Now, this queen wasn't exactly all that normal, according to Starflight. She was currently incapacitated, being forced to live in lava to survive ice breath that was currently eating her from the inside out. Now, when I first heard this, I instantly doubted it, not seeing how the lava didn't just melt her scales but leave the frost breath alone, but in a world of talking fire breathing flying lizards, I decided not to ask questions.

We arrived at the palace, with Glory using her camouflage to blend in while Starflight went ahead to tell us if any Nightwings were coming. Thankfully, it seemed that they were all elsewhere, and weren't in the hallways leading to a room with a giant map in it. When we entered the room, I was impressed with the amount of detail put into the large map, and while I was pondering why Pyrrhia was shaped like a dragon, I failed to notice the Nightwing covered in diamonds that was looking at Starflight and me in confusion.

She only had time to ask who I was before she stopped, with Glory appearing behind her with her claws against the dragon's neck. I watched as Glory told the dragon, who was revealed to be the Nightwing princess Greatness, that she was going to lead us to the Nightwing queen. She nodded, fearing for her life since she had heard of Glory and how she was willing to use her venom, and turned to lift the corner of the map, revealing a tunnel. She climbed into the tunnel first, being followed by Glory and Starflight, while I went in last.

The tunnel was very cramped, with a few twists and turns that weren't very comfortable, but eventually we came across a large open room. In this room was a large cauldron that emitted the only light in the room, and the walls were surrounded with holes that when peered through, could see into other rooms of the palace. Standing in the room was a Nightwing fiddling with large pieces of metal, and a large and imposing looking dragon in the cauldron full of lava.

They both had taken notice of us, and while the Nightwing male kept fiddling with the metal while looking worried, the Nightwing in the cauldron, queen Battlewinner, was looking at us with hatred and was actually hissing at us. To be perfectly honest, seeing one of the largest dragons I had ever met sitting in a cauldron full of lava while hissing at me is probably one of the most terrifying things I had seen at that point.

Glory stood her ground, talking to the other queen, telling her that we were taking the Rainwings back and that the rainforest was not for them to take. The male Nightwing, who was revealed to me later as Mastermind, Starflight's father, asked why they couldn't have the rainforest, in which Glory gave him a look, in which I broke in, saying how you couldn't just live in a place if you were torturing the residents and planning to commit genocide against them.

While he looked away, flabbergasted, queen Battlewinner hissed, saying that the Nightwings were going to have the rainforest one way or another, even if she had to kill Glory right then and there. I stepped up at that. "You may be a dragon living in lava and having an Icewing's breath kill you from the inside, but trust me when I say that if you go after Glory, that ice breath will be the least of your worries." To demonstrate, I lat out a small lightning bolt, showing that I wasn't like most dragons.

However, since I failed my intimidation check, she just laughed at me, which sounded more like a sickly cackle. "Who are you compared to the dozens of foes I've killed before me? I won't let a few idiotic dragons stand in the way of what is best for the tribe." After she said that, she began going into another coughing fit.

Starflight spoke up next, saying maybe there was another way that everything could be settled. Starflight then suggested that if all of the Nightwings swore allegiance to Glory, making her the queen of the Nightwings, and if they swore not to attack the Rainwings, then maybe they could live in the rainforest. Glory didn't look too certain about the idea, not sure if she wanted the Nightwings in her rainforest, though she did like the idea of being the queen of a race that hated her.

Queen Battlewinner, of course, was against this idea, hissing that Glory would never take the Nightwings from her. Glory pointed out that Battlewinner wasn't going anywhere, due to how she needed the lava to stay alive. Meanwhile, princess Greatness was saying it was a great idea, and then everyone could just live in the rainforest. That's when Battlewinner decided enough was enough.

After hissing at her daughter in hatred, Queen Battlewinner began to lift herself out of the cauldron, showing that she was much larger than any dragon any of us had seen. Mastermind objected as she climbed out of the cauldron, her eyes glaring towards Glory as Mastermind tried to take the metal parts that looked like armor and attach them to his queen.

As Mastermind and Greatness both shouted at the queen to get back in the lava, Battlewinner stepped towards Glory, who just stood her ground and watched. Suddenly, Battlewinner's eyes opened wide as she scratched at her throat, which began to cover in ice. As Greatness tried to push her mother back towards the lava, ice began to cover every part of queen Battlewinner as she moved around in pain and anger. As the ice covered her fully, she had one last chance to glare at Glory, Starflight and I as her eyes froze over, freezing her for good.

Everyone in the cavern stood in silence, staring at the now frozen and dead queen. I spoke up, trying to lighten the mood. "Remind me never to ask a Icewing to use his breath to make a snow cone."

Before I could get shouted at by Glory or Starflight for making a joke at such a bad time, the ground suddenly began to shake in such a way it nearly made some of us lose our balance and fall over. Everyone's eyes opened wide as the ground continued to shake, realization as to what was happening coming over everyone: the volcano was erupting. I hissed under my breath, knowing that the signs were obvious, but that wasn't the time for that as everyone began to escape through the tunnel.

Once we got to the other side, Glory quickly asked Greatness where the other prison was. After panicking for a moment, Greatness told her, though she asked her what she should do. Starflight spoke up, telling her to get the Nightwings to the beach and that if they swore allegiance to Glory, they could enter the rainforest. She nodded, flying off, while the rest of us flew towards the prison.

We flew through the tunnels of the fortress, the ground still shaking though not as violently as before. We finally came across the prison, which, after going down stone stairs, we came across several cages, though there were currently only two occupants; an extremely grey and sad looking Rainwing and the Nightwing Glory had come to save, Deathbringer. As Glory went over to them, Starflight looked beside the staircase, finding a keyring with several oddly shaped keys.

After figuring out how to use the keys, which involved finding the pattern of the key and the pattern on the cage, we had Deathbringer free. As I started using the keys to free the Rainwing, she began screaming that we were all going to die as lava began to drip through the ceiling.

Once she was freed, we all quickly went up the stairs, avoiding the lava that was quickly surrounding us. Once we all were out of the cells, Deathbringer took the lead, saying he could get us out of there quickly. We all opened our wings, flying through the Nightwing's fortress as it fell apart around us, with the ceiling and walls crumbling beside us and lava beginning to seep through.

When we finally came out of the fortress, we were greeted to what could only be the whole Nightwing tribe on the beach, all of which were standing around anxiously as they watched the volcano begin to go off and destroy what they once viewed as their home. Before anyone could ask why they weren't through the tunnel yet, it became obvious by the Rainwings standing at the front with spears, along with the rest of the dragonets of destiny.

When we landed, Glory explained the situation to the others. Tsunami wasn't sure about Starflight's idea, meanwhile Sunny was overjoyed at the idea of peace. With the majority vote being to allow the Nightwings to cross over to the rainforest if they swore allegiance to Glory being yes, Glory quickly got Greatness's attention and flew above the Nightwings, some of which looked like they were about to storm the tunnel.

Glory and Greatness explained the situation as to what the plan was to the Nightwings. The overall reaction was...not that great, but faced with just flying over the ocean with no home, many looked like they were willing to accept it. With everything in order, it was said that they would swear allegiance as they passed through the tunnel, and if any of them tried anything, they would soon regret it.

That's how the next hour went, with me and the dragonets standing in front of the tunnel, allowing the Nightwings into the rainforest as they swore allegiance to Glory. There were a few times when some were told to speak louder or were specifically spoken to, such as Greatness, who was relieved she wouldn't have to ever be queen, and Mastermind, who was probably going to be punished for his crimes against the Rainwings.

Eventually, all but one of the Nightwings were over, and almost all of the dragonets glared at the last one, who was the most troublesome Nightwing that they had ever met; Morrowseer. He looked at them distastefully, saying that even if the Nightwings swore allegiance then, it wouldn't matter in the end. Glory glared back, saying that if he didn't want to, then he could just begin flying over the ocean.

He rolled his eyes, saying that he just might as well kill them right then and there for all of the trouble they've caused. I stepped forwards at that. "I've been helping these dragonets since I first met them in the Skywing arena. You will _never_ lay a single talon on them."

He looked at me, uninterested. "If I have to go through a strange dragon just to kill some other useless dragonets, so be it. But I don't see why you're protecting them anyway, if the prophecy isn't even real."

… _What?_

As the dragonets stared in shock, Morrowseer began to explain how the Nightwings didn't even have any powers, and how the prophecy was just made up to aid in the Nightwing's plan. None of them wanted to believe it, and neither did I. It wasn't possible, unless Fathom was lying to me since the beginning.

As the dragonets were standing there, outraged, sad or confused, and Morrowseer stepped up to go into the tunnel, the ground began to shake once more. As the ground shook, there was a large roaring sound, and suddenly, the volcano erupted.

I stared in disbelief at the volcano as it erupted for exactly a second before I began pushing the dragonets to the cave. As Morrowseer began to try to push forwards as well, I glared at them. "This is for all of the pain that you've caused them." I then erupted a jolt of lightning into the large Nightwing, making him spasm and fall to the ground.

I didn't stay to see what happened to him, rushing forwards. I noticed Starflight standing there, watching the volcano, and I pushed him forwards, trying to get him to move faster. He shook out of his stupor, trying to fly faster. However, at the speed we were going, and with the heat rushing behind us, I wasn't sure we were going to make it.

However, Clay then appeared, putting his fireproof scales between me and Starflight as the volcano's warmth began to surround us. We were blown through the tunnel, and as we were surrounded by a bright light, with Clay and I closing our eyes at the pure heat of it, there was a cry from Starflight as we burst out of the cave.

We were once more in the rainforest, and I was thankful to be in it's cooller weather compared to the volcano. However, I didn't have any time to take a breath as Starflight began screaming in pain, holding his hands to his eyes. Not knowing what to do, I quickly reached to a Rainwing that had walked up to us, grabbing a sleep dart from their bag, and jammed it into Starflight's scales.

I stood up, taking deep breaths as Starflight stopped screaming, and he began to go to sleep. I quickly went up to him, moving his hands. I winced at what I saw, seeing burns around his eyes, which were now white. If I had to guess, unless the Rainwings had medicine that would help, we would probably be blind.

As I stood up, Rainwings began to surround Starflight, going to his aid. As I turned, with my plan to go tell the dragonets what I had seen, my eyes opened wide. I watched as Sunny struggled against three Nightwings, and was beginning to be dragged into the rainforest. I yelled out, but due to all of the confusion, no one heard me, so I knew what I had to do.

As I charged through the woods, I thought I heard someone call out to me, but I ignored it. Sunny needed my help, and I was the only one that could save her.

I could only ask myself why everything was suddenly going wrong as I went into the depths of the rainforest after her.

 _Meanwhile, in the rainforest clearing one hour ago…_

I watched in confusion as black dragons began to come out of the cave, which I remembered from my studies with Scorpion as Nightwings. As I watched on in confusion, what felt like hundreds of Nightwings came out of the cave, and I could only question what was going on.

As the Nightwings stopped coming out of the cave, with all of them being surrounded in the clearing by the Rainwings, there was shouting coming from the cave, and I realized that the dragonets still hadn't come out of the cave, and neither had Jack.

Suddenly, a Rainwing along with Tsunami and Sunny flew out of the cave, yelling at everyone to get out of the way. There was a moment of panic as everyone moved away from the tunnel, and then there was what sounded like a large explosion, accompanied a bright light and a smoke and dust cloud.

After looking away from the light, I looked back to see the cloud dissipating. When it was gone, I could see Clay walking out of the smoke coughing, meanwhile a dragon that looked almost exactly like me stood over a Nightwing who was screaming in pain.

The dragon looked around for a moment before grabbing something from a nearby Rainwing's bag, and jabbed it into the Nightwing. I watched as he checked over the Nightwing as he stopped screaming. As he shook his head after looking at the Nightwing's face, he looked up and stared wide eyed in a certain direction.

I looked over to where he was looking, but I only saw branches that had been moved. He shouted out for help, but due to the confusion, no one seemed to hear him. After a moment of indecisiveness, he jumped into the forest. My eyes opened wide, and I yelled at him to stop, but it was too late. I tried to go after him, but when I went in that direction, Rainwings blocked the way, saying that I couldn't leave.

I watched in despair, having been so close to my brother as he was suddenly gone again.

 _Meanwhile, earlier, above the volcano…_

I watched as the Nightwings scurried into the tunnel like a bunch of frantic ants, laughing my head off. I found it so amusing that they had to swear allegiance to another dragon just to live, especially to one that they had planned multiple times to kill!

As the last of the Nightwings went through the tunnel, I calmed myself down, watching with disinterest the standoff going on below with the dragonets, the Nightwing Morrowseer, and the oh so interesting human/dragon, Jack. My other self could try as much as she wanted, but no puny human in a dragon's body, even in that of the once were Skywings, could stop me.

As the little group of dragons argued amongst each other, I decided I was done being bored again. I looked towards the volcano and snapped my talons. I grinned as I watched the startled expressions cross the dragon's faces as the volcano's eruption began in earnest.

As they ran into the tunnel in fear, with Morrowseer being killed by the fire of the volcano, I watched in glee and amusement as the eruption occurred, summoning sunglasses and putting them on as a large smoke cloud rushed towards me. I grinned as the fortress that once was the Nightwing's home vanished under fire and smoke, and watched the eruption until the very end.

Once it was all over, I decided it was time to take a break. My other self would probably begin fighting for control again soon, and I wasn't about to let her ruin the fun I had just had by fixing it. So as I opened a portal back to our home, I gave one more look towards the tunnel that led to the rainforest, which was now buried. Try as much as he want, I would not allow that measly excuse for a dragon stop me.

 **Author's Note: Once more, I must apologize if this feels rushed, but that should be fixed now that book 4 is over. In fact, if I had to guess, due to all of the important events in book 5, along with the extra stuff going on with Sara and then the sub plot with Storm. After this chapter is released, I will be back from my trip and be on normal posting schedule (hopefully). So thank you all for reading my story and for your support, and the next chapter should be out on time, whenever that may be.**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

I crashed through the trees in the dead of night, not stopping for a second, knowing that if I did, I would lose them. I didn't know why those Nightwings took Sunny, but I knew they had to be stopped. I had been following them through the rainforest for a while, and as I did, I could hear the noise of the Rainwings and the Nightwings in the clearing getting farther and farther away, until eventually I couldn't hear them anymore.

Finally, it seemed like the Nightwings were slowing down. Not wanting to reveal I was there yet, in case they tried to hold Sunny hostage, I quickly climbed up a tree, watching them stand and catch their breath. There were three of them, two males and one female, with the larger male holding onto Sunny as she struggled to break free.

As they caught their breath, the female began to speak. In the dead of night, I was easily able to listen in as she complained about their current situation. These three did not like the idea of being ruled by a Rainwing, and had run off to formulate a plan. Of course, that plan involved holding Sunny hostage until they got what they wanted, but they weren't all too certain that would be enough.

Sunny spoke up, trying to appeal to them, saying that if they just went back now, nothing bad would happen to them. They scoffed at this, deciding that their plan to use Sunny as a hostage would be better. Sunny disagreed, saying her friends wouldn't give up just for her sake.

At this, the female Nightwing who was addressed as Fierceteeth looked over at the shorter male, who proceeded to pull out a strange black disk from under his wing. They talked about it, calling it the obsidian mirror, which was animus enchanted. To demonstrate, they proceeded to say "Glory" to the mirror, and then blew a puff of smoke into it.

Sunny and I watched as the mirror absorbed the smoke, and an image appeared in the mirror. Standing in the mirror was Glory, in which it looked like she was talking to Clay and Tsunami. They began talking, and everyone could somehow hear everything they said, such as wondering where Sunny was. Tsunami just pushed it off, saying she was probably just around there somewhere and they'd find her later. They also mentioned Starflight's wounds, saying he'd be okay, but the were going to have to keep him asleep to keep him from feeling too much pain.

After each word the other dragonets spoke, Sunny appeared to look even worse and worse, and I felt bad for her. I remembered the conversation she and I had all that time ago in that cage in Scarlet's castle, and how she was certain the dragonets viewed her as a small child. This conversation fueled her suspicions, and with that and the fact she couldn't be there to help Starflight, she really wasn't looking that great.

Once the dragonets were done speaking, Fierceteeth went to clear the smoke from the mirror. Right as she went to do so, I heard a voice faintly in the background of the mirror, which sounded both familiar and unfamiliar, asking if they had seen me. As Glory turned to face them, Fierceteeth cleared the mirror, with both sound and the image disappearing from the mirror.

The three Nightwings began speaking again, agreeing with Sunny that the dragonets and Glory especially wouldn't give up the rainforest just for her. However, they began plotting again, and as they spoke about giving Sunny to one of the three Sandwing sisters, and even selling the secret wearabouts of the dragonets of destiny, I decided I had had enough.

I burst down through the trees, aiming straight for the largest Nightwing that held Sunny. None of the Nightwings had time to react as I used all of my momentum to punch him straight in the face, knocking him back and making him lose his grip on Sunny, who looked both surprised and happy to see me.

As the large Nightwing layed on the ground moaning in pain, I swung my head towards the other two and fired a few bolts of lightning at them. Fierceteeth managed to avoid it, with the other one stumbling and screaming out as he got hit by a few sparks.

As I addressed the situation, I knew I couldn't face all three of them by myself, with the largest one getting off the ground, rubbing his head. As Fierceteeth blew a blume of fire at me, I quickly ducked out of the way, clenching my jaw in mild pain as my tail got hit. I looked around, trying to spot Sunny, and I found her as she waved me towards the trees.

I took off, making my through the bushes, with the Nightwings close on my tail. I made my way through the trees, following Sunny as she made quick turns and went through small crevices to try to get away faster, while I used my large wings to propel myself through the bushes and branches that stood in my way, though I was getting pretty scratched up that way.

After a few minutes, it sounded like our pursuit was a good distance away from us, and I nearly passed Sunny as she hid under a fallen tree, and only noticed her since she grabbed my tail, specifically at the tip where I was burned. As I clenched my jaw again, I quickly squeezed in next to her, and we waited in silence.

After a minute, we heard branches breaking nearby, and the cursing of the Nightwings at how Sunny had gotten away, and how they hadn't noticed I was there and was going to attack. As they complained, they just decided to keep moving, deciding that they didn't need Sunny to sell the information of the dragonet's location. After deciding to head to Burn, since she was the closest, Sunny and I let out our breaths as they began to go away.

After a minute, we deemed it was safe to go out. As I brushed dirt off of my scales, Sunny hugged me. "Jack, what are you doing here? How did you know where those Nightwings had taken me?"

I smirked at her. "What, no thank you?" As she rolled her eyes and let go, I explained how I had seen them carry her off, knowing it wasn't for anything good. "So," I said, clasping my hands together. "I guess we should follow them and stop them from selling out your friends to Burn, right?"

Sunny shook her head. "No, _I_ need to follow them and stop them. You need to go back and tell the others what is happening, and not to worry about me." At my "Yeah, I'm not doing that" face, Sunny sighed. "Jack, someone needs to stop them, and someone needs to tell the others. You're a faster flyer than I am, and also there's someone that you need to meet back in the rainforest."

I looked at her, confused. "Who's waiting for me? Is it a Nightwing or something?" I shook my head. "No, no, I'm not letting you distract me. Sunny, I heard what the others said about you in that mirror." Sunny looked away at that. "If you feel like you need to do this by yourself to prove something, then I won't let you do that, since that could lead you to getting hurt or worst."

She looked like she was about to speak up at that, but I continued. "Besides, you have nothing to prove. Your friends view you that way not because they don't think you're useful, but because they view you as their family, as the nice one that they can always depend on. I won't stop you from going after those Nightwings, but I will stop you from doing it to prove something that doesn't need to be proven, especially if you're by yourself. So," I said, holding out a hand. "Want to go on an adventure?"

Sunny looked deep in thought, before smiling at me. "You make it hard to stay mad at people, you know that, right?" She put on a blank expression. "Especially after telling them you just want to be friends." She smiled again. "But I'm sure we can do this, so let's go before they get too far."

As Sunny began to fly up above the trees, I followed her. "Hey, I did say I was sorry. But you know my reasons, even if the fan community disagrees," at her strange look back at me, I continued. "But that doesn't matter now I guess, so let's go."

We continued to follow the Nightwings through the rainforest from a distance far enough where we could see them, but they wouldn't be able to see us unless they were really looking. Sunny and I kept following them in silence, neither of us speaking as we focused on following the Nightwing trio, both of us unsure of how we would handle them.

Something Sunny and I noticed was how frequently they needed to stop and rest, and pinned it down to their poor health. I felt bad for them in that regard, and were glad that now that the Nightwings were living in the rainforest instead of the volcano, they would get healthier. However, that would take time, and with these three running to sell out the dragonets, I knew I couldn't stop to feel pity for them.

As we continued to fly, I couldn't help but keep wondering how Sunny was doing. She was currently going through a lot, with the mixture of being friendzoned, finding out the prophecy might be fake, and having her fears realized at how her friends view her. I couldn't help but worry, and I could only wonder what was going through her head as she kept a determined expression on her face as she centered her view on the three Nightwings.

As I worried for her, I couldn't help but think about everything that was happening to me as well. I had escaped an exploding volcano, I had witnessed a dragon being eaten alive by frost breath, and had seen so much more death since I had gotten to this world. Heck, _I_ had died, though thankfully I was brought back to life as well. I shook my head at these thoughts, wondering how I wasn't traumatized or scarred for life yet.

There was of course the fact of how Fathom might have been lying to me about the prophecy. I thought back to every conversation I had with him, along with what Morrowseer had said. If I remembered correctly, Fathom had said something about Morrowseer just being a way to get the prophecy know, but if it had been made up by the Nightwings just for their plot, then how could it be real?

I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice as Sunny moved down to land. I followed her, noticing how not only had the Nightwings had done the same not too far away, but also how the sun was beginning to rise. I landed in a small clearing of trees next to Sunny, noticing the lack of vegetation around us, and guessed we were on the outskirts of the rainforest already.

Sunny held up a talon to her mouth, signaling that we needed to be quiet. I nodded and began following her, noticing that we were headed towards where the Nightwings had landed. We carefully eased through the trees, trying to make our way to where they landed as silently as possible.

After a few minutes, we finally reached the edge of a clearing that had many rocks and a stream going through it. In this clearing was the Nightwings, who looked like they were settling down to sleep. It made sense, since they were up all night, and as Nightwings it would be easier for them to travel at night without being noticed.

After a few minutes of watching them, and making sure that they were asleep, I turned towards Sunny. "Alright, what do we do now? We've managed to follow them all the way to the edge of the Rainforest, and we need to stop them from spreading secrets, but the question is how we do this."

Sunny nodded. "Yeah, and with the only ones here being me and you, I don't think either of us have the heart to kill them, especially in their sleep." I nodded at that. "Well, maybe we can slow them down by taking their mirror, at least. After that though…"

I nodded once more. "Good idea. If we take their mirror, we'll be taking their evidence that the others are in the rainforest, since then they'd only have their word that they're there. There might be other ways to slow them down, but for now, let's focus on getting that mirror."

As Sunny agreed, we went into the clearing to begin the plan, not knowing that we had just started the last major adventure Sunny and I would have.

 _Meanwhile, in the Rainforest…_

I followed the dragonets through the rainforest as they followed Glory, who was currently shouting out orders to both Rainrings and Nightwings alike. She was currently trying to get the Nightwings settled with temporary camps, getting the assistance of the Rainwings to build temporary shelters along with getting food and water for everyone. Things were going... less than alright, with the Nightwings still being very hesitant to follow orders.

I still wasn't fully certain what was going on at the moment, only having the whole situation with the Rainwings and the Nightwings briefly explained to me, but that didn't matter right now. I finally spoke up, no longer being patient. "What do you mean he's gone missing?" I asked. I had told them what I had seen, with Jack running into the rainforest for no reason. "He wouldn't have just left, not for a good reason."

Glory shook her head. "And that's what we're worried about. Static isn't the only one missing right now. Sunny is also missing, and after recounting, three Nightwings are as well. We can only fear the worse, and currently have search parties looking for them now." She turned towards me. "Look, I know you want to see your brother again, and I want to see my friends as well and know they're safe, but we can't do too much about it right now with all that's currently happening."

I stomped my foot on the ground. "Then just let me go after him! I know which way he went, and I already tracked him all the way here! I can and will find him again." At this point, we had stopped walking, with Clay giving me a sympathetic look, Glory giving me a softer look that said "I know how you feel right now, but we can't", and Tsunami looked outraged.

"You think you're the only one that wants to go after them?!" Tsunami yelled at me. "Sunny and Static are like family to us, and we want them to be safe, not in danger! We care about them as much as you do, but we can't go after them right now, no matter how much we want to."

I glared back at Tsunami, holding her gaze for a few seconds, before softening my expression and looking at the ground. "You're right." I said. "I'm being too stubborn about this, and I should just wait for them to be found. It's just...I was so close to finding my brother again, and now, right as I finally found him again, he's already gone. I just want to see my brother again."

I felt a wing close around me, and I looked up to see it was Clay. "We know how you feel. We all have family waiting for us, once the war is over, and we just want them to be safe. But we all know Static, and if he's gone after Sunny, they'll all be all right. You just have to belief that they will be, and then everything will be better."

I nodded, pushing his wing off of me. "Well, I guess while we wait for them, I should at least make myself useful. Is there anything you need from me?" I asked Glory, who had begun walking again.

She shook her head. "I don't know if there is much you can do to help right now. If you have advice on how we can deal with all of these Nightwings, I'm open to suggestions. But you've already helped us enough with stopping Scorpion, who Deathbringer and a few Rainwings have already gone to deal with. I'd also like any ideas you have with detaining him, though, since the Rainwings don't have a prison."

I smiled at her. "I'd be happy to figure out a way to keep him in prison. I just don't think it should be too harsh though. He was just following orders, and he didn't want to be killed by Blister." I sighed. "I'll figure out something. If anything, we could just keep him tied up with strong vines and use sleep darts on him, though i had to use three to keep him down."

Glory looked back at that. " _Three_ whole darts? From what I was told, you shouldn't even do more than one at a time. That's an impressive resistance he has. But to your idea, I'm afraid we can't do that. We aren't supposed to you the sleep darts for long periods of time, unless it's to keep a heavily wounded dragon asleep." She looked a bit sad about that, since that's what was currently being done with her friend, who I had seen been put asleep by Jack that night to stop his pain.

"Well, I'm sure we'll think of something soon. There's a lot in this rainforest that could be used. Heck, if it comes down to it, we could just tie him up and stick him in some quicksand and keep guards next to him to keep him from dying." At Glory's thoughtful look, I quickly added in, "...that was supposed to be a joke, by the way."

Glory nodded. "Yes, but it could be possible, as long as we put guards there that won't accidently forget about him or get distracted by a butterfly. However, that doesn't matter right now. Come on you three, we still need to work on getting these Nightwings settled."

I sighed and nodded. After talking to Glory after she had done a speech to both the Nightwings and Rainwings about how the Nightwings would be allowed to live here, I was currently assigned to help her with ideas that could help them live together. I wasn't sure I would be as much help since Jack was the one more big into peace, but I had mentioned a few ideas that I remembered from history class that could help the two get along, such as choosing one Nightwing that could be a form of representative for his/her tribe.

So far, my advice was working pretty well, with the Nightwings begrudgingly helping to make their shelters with the help of the Rainwings, though they did easily accept any food that was given to them. Honestly, things were looking alright between the two tribes, and I could see them working well together in the time to come.

As that thought crossed my mind, I realized that I still needed to focus on getting home. Sure, this place was nicer than back home in some regards, but it was also terrible in others, such as the fact that murder seemed to be around every corner. I thought about how I would even get home though; with the cave I arrived in gone, that left no options on how to get back.

I sighed, offering a suggestion on a sturdier knot for a rope that kept coming undone for a Rainwing. As I showed them how to do it, I knew getting back home would have to wait until Jack got back.

I could only hope he got back soon.

 _Meanwhile, in the secret home of Storm…_

I paced back and forth through the room. Guilt reigned on my mind of what I had done to the Nightwing's island, and I was glad that so few had been killed because of it. My other self had tried to hide it from me, but after seeing a whole tribe of Nightwings show up in the rainforest, it was kind of easy to guess what had happened.

I paced back and forth through the room, wondering if I had done the right thing by making Jack eventually have to kill me. I sighed, knowing he could do it, but still wondering if he would be able to. My other self had done so much, and most likely had something planned for Jack and his future companions.

For a moment, I stopped pacing, looking around the room which I called home. It was my secret and original home, forged from the clouds and always moving, and if a dragon flew through it, they would see it just as an ordinary cloud. There was a flaw in the camouflage, one which I hoped Jack would see through, in which the cloud never changed shape or size.

I needed Jack to find this place, since it was the only place I could be killed in. My other self knew this as well, but she couldn't afford to just never enter it or to destroy it, since it's what kept us alive.

I sat down on the pile of furs that I called my bed, thinking back to the older days, trying to remember every decision that had lead me here, and just wanting to remember my life before it soon finally ended.

As I had told Jack, I was a Skywing, but not one of which can be found today. Thousands of years ago, even before the Scorching when dragons took the world from the humans/scavengers, I had hatched as a mildly rare Skywing animus. Animus magic was different back then, since it came with more rules and less consequences, which was different from today's animus dragons, which were forever changed by me.

I had done many things in my life, such as changing animus magic to punish those who used it for poor reasons, and made me the most powerful. I had also seen the end of the original Skywings, though it wasn't fully my doing. Over the course of time, Skywings lost their scales that moved like clouds, adjusting to instead be like the colors of the metals found in the mountains they began to live in, along with gaining fire breath by a mixture of mating with other tribes and finding it more useful than lightning breath.

I had done so many things, but at the same time, I had created failsafes. I had made myself immortal, but at the same time had made a way to kill myself when I knew the time would come. I made it so that the original Skywings could return, but only if two special dragons made the decision to do so, if they even stayed. I always had a failsafe, no matter what. It was one of the old rules of animus magic that never left me.

I looked up from the pile of furs, staring at the door to my home. It was a circular door, and was the only entrance to the place besides my teleportation. Nothing could open it, including magic, unless one of every current dragon race in Pyrrhia was present. To show that, circling the door was silver (Skywings-old), red (Skywings-now), brown (Mudwings), blue (Seawings), rainbow (Rainwings), black (Nightwings), yellow (Sandwings), and white (Icewings). I had created the door, knowing that to kill me, a unity between tribes would be necessary. After all, I hadn't made it that easy.

I layed back on the furs, not knowing what to do for the first time in hundreds of years. I was stuck, and could only think of trying to figure out more ways to help Jack. However, as much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn't. If I gave him anything my other self saw would give him an edge, then she would kill him. She currently viewed him as weak and foolish, exactly as I needed her to.

I sat up, looking over at the shelf of all of the items i had animus enchanted. I ad kept every single item I had ever made, not wanting any of them to ever get into anyone else's talons, knowing the consequences of what could happen.

On that shelf of items sat one item in particular that would be used to finally kill me. I enchanted it without my other self knowing, and I had picked the one she would never guess. I knew she had suspicions that I had enchanted something, but she couldn't take the risk of tossing out all or any of the items on the shelf, since each one could be used for something important in one way or another, such as a sundial that could temporarily stop time for the user or small fruit tree that would never die, and always had fruit growing on its branches (It was dragon fruit, in case you were wondering).

I stared at the shelf, and every item that sat on it. I sat there for a long time, staring at each and individual item, remembering why I had enchanted each one, and when. I remembered each every purpose for the enchantments: to save a friend's life, to gain a former lover's favor, to end the life of one who had deceived me… and soon, it would all be over. I soon would no longer have to feel the pain of every mistake, and have to remember the deaths of every dragon I had ever befriended or loved. I would finally be with them at last, after all these years.

At times, I wanted to scream at myself, to find a way to go back and stop myself from ever making myself immortal. But even animus magic has it's limits, and I was precise with every spell I ever made. What I had couldn't be undone, not without Jack. I felt tears creeping along the sides of my eyes, remembering more memories of the past, and only wanting it to finally end.

She didn't want it to end, though. My other self was the side of me that wanted to explore the things I hadn't done in my long life, the things I had always fought against. Ruling, fighting, and becoming so powerful that no one would ever stand in my way. She was, in esense, the embodiment of everything evil. And the sick thing was, I had created her through trying to be perfect. Through my mistakes, I had created the most dangerous killer this world has ever seen.

I could only hope that Jack would be able to stop me in time, before it was too late. She was planning something, and she would begin her plan soon, that much I knew. As I looked over everything, I saw something that I hadn't seen in years, n item I had enchanted years ago that was buried behind a few other items. I quickly reached for it and grabbed it, holding it up to my face.

This item could give Jack the edge he needed, but now, one question remained. Who to give it to?

 _Meanwhile, in the Scorpion Den…_

I walked around another corner, just looking around once again, bored out of my mind. I had finally decided I wasn't going to be part of the war anymore, and after seeing the dragonets from a distance in the arena myself, along with all the rumors being spread about them, I could only hope that they would soon end the war.

However, even if the war ended, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my life. I had originally joined the fight since I had nothing else to do; I had no job, I had no family or friends, and I was alone. Before the war, I had to do whatever it took to survive in the kingdom of the sand.

Nowadays, it looked like things had changed around the Scorpion Den, where the low lifes of the Sandwings lived. Things had changed since I last lived here, with the group known as the Outclaws trying to bring order, though noticeably ignoring the larger crime circuits for the time being. I had even been offered a job with them, which I had accepted for the time being, since it did help me get a meal. I wasn't sure how far they would go, but for now, since I no longer wanted any part of the war, I would help them.

I continued to patrol around the cramped stalls, being offered one deal or another as I kept an eye out for anything unusual. I had been given a list of things to look out for, and how to deal with each of them. See a starving dragonet? Point them to where food is distributed. See someone mugging another? Tackle them to the ground and keep them pinned until they can be punished.

I rolled my eyes as I finished giving a small old and strange looking Sandwing directions to where a stall with actual fresh fruits could be bought, though I warned her of the prices. I didn't exactly like the job, though it did give me something to do, and if it was making the Scorpion Den an easier place the live, then I was all for it.

As I turned away, I noticed the Sandwing I had given directions to drop something. I quickly picked it up before any other dragons could spot it, knowing that it would have been gone and being sold three shops down if I hadn't grabbed it.I noticed it was a strange metal necklace, with a diamond shaped piece with a strange spiral on it.

I looked up, noticing the Sandwing was gone. I quickly went the way she was headed, but soon noticed that she wasn't at the fruit stand. I asked the owner if he had seen her, but he said he hadn't, and asked if I wanted an orange.

Looking around, I couldn't see the Sandwing anywhere, and could only ponder where she could have gone. Shrugging, I decided I would hold onto the necklace for now, and give it back if she showed up again. As I slipped the necklace over my head, I felt a strange feeling overcome me. I shook it off, putting my hand over my chest and on top of the necklace, which centered and fit well with my star shaped scar.

Walking back into the streets, I once again began thinking, wondering if I would ever see the dragon who gave me it, and if I would ever be able to thank him. I thought about this often, and could only hope I would get my answer sooner or later.

For some strange reason, I felt as if I would get to know the answer soon.

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone, I'm back from camp! Thankfully, they had excellent wifi there, so I was able to post on time from my phone. And dang, camp was awesome! I even made my own Wings of Fire shirt, which is now my favorite shirt! But anyways, back to the story, thank you all so much for your comments and support of this story so far. So much happened this chapter, and there's so much ahead of us. Also, if I got some details wrong, sorry, but i haven't been checking through book 5 as much for details since I'm currently reading book 10, which is AMAZING. Over halfway through though, so no spoilers please (crossing my fingers still for Turtle x Kinkajou, cause screw magic). Anyways, can't wait for 11-15 along with the graphic novels, those are going to be so cool. Alright, so thank you all so much for your support, and the next chapter will be up on time next week.**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Sunny and I edged closer to the Nightwings, who were sleeping spread out around the clearing. We approached them slowly, not wanting to make too much noise in case they weren't fully asleep or in case we woke them up.

We got to the edge of their sleeping area, and I pointed towards the smaller male, who had the mirror. "You get the mirror, I'll watch the other two in case they wake up." Sunny nodded, slowly making her way towards him. I slowly made my way to the other two, one of which was badly snoring. I was mildly surprised that they could sleep with the racket he was making, and was honestly quite worried about his health with how loud it was.

I watched the two of them sleep in silence, watching for any abnormal movement, while Sunny attempted to get the mirror. I heard her make an eep, and I turned around to check on her. The Nightwing was reaching out for her, but before I jumped at him, I realized he was still asleep. I heard Fierceteeth talking behind me, and I quickly turned around, but realized she was just mumbling in her sleep, having whacked the larger one with her tail, which mildly hushed his snoring.

As Sunny continued her attempts to get the mirror, I continued watching over the other two like a hawk, watching for any signs of movement that could show that they were waking , I couldn't help but feel pity for them as I looked closer at them. They clearly showed signs of starvation, and each of them tossed around in their sleep, and showed signs of experiencing nightmares. It made since, due to how they barely just escaped with their lives after watching their home be blown apart.

After a few more minutes, I felt a slight nudge on my shoulder, and looked back to see Sunny, who was holding the jagged black mirror in her hand. She pointed me towards the stream nearby, so I nodded, and we walked over. As soon as we were far enough away, Sunny began whispering quietly to me. "Alright, we have the mirror, and that should hopefully slow them down. But now that I think about it, shouldn't we do something else while they're asleep, something that might make them just go back to the rainforest?"

I nodded. "Yes, that would be best. Looking over them, their still showing slight signs of shock from the explosion of the volcano. Maybe we can use that to our advantage, and try to scare them back. Maybe a message or something, though I don't think drawing in the sand will do us much good."

Sunny pointed along the riverbank. "There's some red clay here we could use, and we could write a message on one of those large boulders, that way we make sure that they see it." I agreed, and we walked towards the bank. After grabbing a few talonfuls of clay, we walked to a large boulder that stood over the Nightwings.

"Alright, you write the message, I'll add details around it to look more terrifying, along with keeping an eye on them to make sure they don't wake up." Sunny nodded, and we got to work. As she wrote a cryptic message, telling the Nightwings that unless they headed back they would be killed, I added in red talonprints that looked like they were being dragged by something, along with a few splatters that looked like blood. Honestly, in the end, even I had to admit that if I saw this message after waking from a nap, I would mildly freak out.

With Sunny finishing up, we decided to go back into the tree cover, in which we would experiment with the mirror while waiting for the Nightwings to wake we were back within the trees and a suitable distance within that we wouldn't be noticed but we could still keep an eye on the Nightwings, Sunny went to work on the mirror.

After taking a few seconds to remember how to use the mirror, along with who she was going to use it to see, Sunny whispered "Starflight" into the mirror, then blew a puff of smoke into the mirror (which made me realize that I would never be able to use it myself if I needed to, unless I had a fire breather with me due to how I can't produce smoke). We watched as the smoke was absorbed into the mirror, and then a finer smoke layer showed on top of the mirror.

Now that I was closer to the mirror, I realized it wasn't showing the actual image of the dragons, but a smoke outline of them, with Starflight centering the mirror as a range of black smoke, who was surrounded by several light blue smoke clouds which I could only presume to be the nurses, one of whom, when she spoke about Starflight's condition, I realized was Singularity. I winced, knowing she would be upset that I had run off again, but I knew I would at least be able to justify my actions more this time.

Sunny listened to the mirror with a pained expression as they talked about Starflight, who wasn't doing too well. They said he would probably get better, but weren't sure about his eyes. I felt bad for him, and wondered if I would have been in the same state if I had looked back into the fire of the volcano as well.

As the Rainwings talked, one mentioned how Sunny and I had gone missing, in which Singularity's head shot up. Before she could inquire, Starflight mumbled in his sleep, starting to stir. The Rainwings hushed themselves, going to get another sleep dart. As they did so, Sunny blew away the smoke, not wanting to watch anymore.

I felt bad, both for Starflight and for Sunny. Starflight, due to the pain he was going through and the consequences they might permanently have. Sunny, because of how she was feeling guilty for leaving her friends behind while trying to stop the Nightwings, even though she knew she wanted to help her pained friend as well.

Before I could reassure her that Starflight would be fine, we heard a roar from the clearing. We both turned around, facing the clearing where the Nightwings were, to find that they were clearly awake and that Fierceteeth was clearly upset. Sunny and I moved to get a better position so we could hear better, meanwhile Sunny tucked the mirror under one of her wings.

When we got closer, we could easily hear Fierceteeth yelling, asking how the other Nightwing could lose the mirror. While he tried to explain that he couldn't have lost it, and that it was probably stolen, the larger one called out to the others, meanwhile looking at the boulder with the message.

The other two approached it, with Fierceteeth looking sceptical and the other one looking unsure. They began talking about the message, Fierceteeth clearly thinking that someone was trying to stop them. However, the other two were uncertain, with the larger one whimpering about a legend known as "the Darkstalker". As the other Nightwing began to look more uncertain, Fierceteeth shook her head, saying that they were going to continue moving, having decided to go to the kingdom of the sand to go tell Burn, first by getting a messenger in a place called the Scorpion Den.

After a moment of hesitation, the other two agreed, and the three of them took off. I turned towards Sunny and sighed. "Guess we weren't able to get them to go back, huh?" As I said that, Sunny opened her wings, meanwhile grabbing the mirror in one of her hands.

"Yes, but we were at least able to spook them. I can't believe I managed to use a old Nightwing legend on them!" She then turned towards the way they were flying. "But now we still have to stop them from getting to Burn, and I have no idea how we're going to do that."

I nudged her with my own wing, preparing to take to the sky after the Nightwings. "Hey, I'm sure we'll figure something out. Maybe we'll be able to stop whatever messenger they get, or be able to stop them at the Scorpion Den, whatever place that is. But I'm sure we'll figure something out, so let's get going before they get too far, alright?"

Sunny smiled and nodded, in which she then took to the sky. I quickly followed after her, and we flew over the terrain, following the Nightwings once more.

 _Meanwhile, in the Rainforest…_

I walked past another Nightwing, who just like the last five "accidentally" bumped into me, grumbling under their breath. I was beginning to get real sick of them and their attitude by this point, but Glory said that I wasn't allowed to give any of them even a tiny shock, so I decided to listen to her.

At that point, I was only still in the Rainforest helping with the building of shelters for the Nightwings for a few reasons. One, since the dragonets were certain that they would find Jack soon, and he would be brought back here, so I had to wait for him. Two, since I was told by that weird Sandwing to trust the dragonets, and since her predictions on where they were was correct, I might as well listen to her past advice.

Three, because I was told to stay here and help by Glory, since they weren't fully certain they could trust me yet. Sure, I "supposedly" was Jack's sister, and I had warned them of a assassin, but of course that was due to how I was the assassin's apprentice, and they had just met me the previous night. I would probably be able to do whatever I wanted by the end of the day, but for now I knew I was being watched, even though I didn't need to be.

As I pointed out to another Nightwing where the pile of fruits the Rainwings had brought in was, I was really beginning to think I should just run into the Rainforest and find Jack myself. However, as I scoped out the treeline, looking for where I had seen him go and looking for a break through the dragons, I was suddenly tackled in the side by a multicolored blur.

"Static! Ooh, I knew the rumors weren't true and that you hadn't gone missing, since there would be no reason for you to go missing and...wait, you're not Static." After getting off of the ground (and also me), the Rainwing looked at me, and realized that I wasn't who she thought I was.

After getting up myself, I looked at the Rainwing with mild annoyance, though understanding her confusion. "Yeah, I'm not Static. My name is Spark. I just arrived here last night searching for Static, who is my brother. You're not the only one that's been searching for him today though, that's for certain." I had been talked to by almost every Rainwing search party Glory had sent out, many of them mistaking me for Jack due to our similar appearances.

I watched as her face put on a fake smile, though it was obvious she was disappointed I wasn't Jack. As she replied, the colors of her scales, which were previously bright and happy, took on more subdued colors, with some grey appearing along the edges of her wings. "Oh, well it's nice to meet you Spark. I think Static might have mentioned he had a sister, so it's nice to meet you. Do you happen to have any idea where he is though?" She asked, looking hopeful.

I shook my head. "Sorry, but I haven't. I actually came here searching for him, and I was told to wait here until he got back. I think I know what happened to him, in which I think I saw him go into the forest after someone, though I don't know who, since it was so dark last night." Seeing the worried expression on her face, I decided to try and calm her down a bit. "I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met before this. What's your name?" I asked her.

"My name is Aster, but I prefer to go by Singularity." At my confused look, she smiled a little. "I know, it's a strange name for a Rainwing, but it's the one I have, and I like it. I help out at the medical shelter as a nurse, where I originally met Static. I'm hoping to get that position changed soon though, since I prefered my old job at teaching dragonets how to shoot their venom."

I broke in finally, mildly confused at something she had said. "Wait, why did you meet Static in the medical hut? Was someone hurt, or worst, was he hurt?" I asked, fearing what could have happened to him and if he was still in pain.

Singularity nodded. "Yeah, when we first met, Static wasn't doing too well, having been stung by the tip of a Sandwing tail barb." At my wided eyes, she quickly continued. "Don't worry, he got all better, of course. Well, after he fled the hut to go after his friends and then died and came back to life that is."

I stopped her again. "You're joking, right? He didn't actually die, did he? And wait, dragons don't come back to life normally, do they?"

Singularity shook her head. "No, not normally. I only heard he had died by listening in on his friends. I don't know how he came back, but when he did, he came back perfectly healthy and fine. I even did a full check up, and there wasn't even a scar from where he had been hurt. But anyways, is there anything else you would like to know? I should...probably get back to the shelter though. We've had a couple of injuries lately that are pretty severe, so I should probably get back and check on them."

I thought for a second, looking over her for a second. "Just one question, if you don't mind me asking." She nodded, allowing me to continue. "What's your relationship with my brother? You seem pretty eager to find him, that's for sure."

At that point in time, I didn't even know dragons _could_ blush, due to their scales. And yet, I was proven that they could as a mild blush appeared on Singularity's face, along with some pink rising into her scales. "I.I'm just a friend, th..that's all." She shook her head, which cleared the blush and the pink scales. "I'm just worried about him, is all. If you do see him, can you come get me, if you could?"

I thought for a moment, and nodded. "Sure, but it would probably after I talked with him. I haven't seen him in a while, and I have a lot I need to talk to him about. But after that, you'll be one of the first dragons I bring him to, don't worry."

Singularity smiled as she spread her wings. "Thank you, Spark. If you can, be sure to visit me sometime. It's nice, having others to talk to at times." I nodded at her as she took off into the trees. As I watched her go off into the branches, using her tail to propel her forwards, I began to wonder even more about my brother, wondering just what he had experienced in the last few months.

With even more questions plaguing my thoughts, I began walking through the Nightwing camp once more, seeing what else I could do to help.

 _Meanwhile, in the desert…_

While Sunny and I flew over the hot sands of the desert, with me high in the sky and Sunny low to the ground as camouflage, I couldn't help but remember why I hated the heat of the desert. Sure, it was better than humid heat, such as the rainforest, but it still had shade, which made things cooler. Here in the desert, however, the only shade where I was the rare cloud that appeared, and those were thin and didn't help that much.

As I began to contemplate how the Nightwings were still able to fly after several hours of flight through the baking desert (especially since their dark scales would just absorb even _more_ heat), I realized that we had arrived at our destination. Off in the distance sat what looked like a large wall, with a gate facing towards us. From where I was at, I could see several buildings and tents within these walls, to the point that they crowded most of the ground, leaving little room for walking.

When we began to get closer, I was able to notice the sheer size of the place, making it almost the size of a city. In case there were any guards on the walls, I began to fly lower, swooping down to the ground and meeting up with Sunny, making sure the Nightwings still weren't aware we were there. Sunny smiled at my appearance, but didn't speak, instead focusing on flying the last bit of distance we had until we reached the Scorpion Den.

After a few more minutes of flight, Sunny and I landed behind a sand dune close to the main gate, where the Nightwings had landed at just a few minutes ago. While they began shouting at a guard who stood in front of the gate, demanding entrance, Sunny was busy digging beside a cactus. At my puzzled look, she lifted up the mirror. "I don't want to bring this with me, so I'm going to hide it here until we can retrieve it later." As I nodded, she placed the mirror in the sand, quickly burying it and smoothing over the sand, making it look like it had never been disturbed.

When she was done with that, we looked back towards the Nightwings, who weren't having the best of luck getting in. Actually, after mentioning the dragonets, one of the guards mentioned someone named Thorn, and suddenly the Nightwings were surrounded by guards. As Sunny and I watched, we heard someone clear their throat behind us, and we whirled around.

Standing behind us was a large Sandwing, who looked like the other guards. As he stood before us, watching us curiously, I saw an odd characteristic about him, which has his claws, in which he had an extra digit on each hand. The Sandwing began to speak, asking us why we were following the Nightwings.

As it turns out, Sunny doesn't deal well under pressure, and immediately said we weren't following them with the worst poker face I had ever seen. As the Sandwing looked extremely sceptical, he ushered us forwards, telling us to move towards the Nightwings we "weren't" following. Seeing as he mildly raised his tailbarab, and not wanting to cause a scene, both Sunny and I decided to comply, moving towards the three.

We all entered the city, the Nightwings still not noticing us as they were forced forwards through the gates and into the city by the guards, meanwhile Sunny and I followed them slowly, still not trying to be noticed, as our guard followed beside us. When we began to enter through the gates, Sunny began to strike up a conversation with the guard, who was appropriately named Six Claws.

While Sunny conversed with the Sandwing, having a simple conversation with him to learn more about the city and what would happen to us, I examined the city itself, looking at every detail I could. As we walked, I realized that a "city" wasn't the best description of this place, with the inside being more like a bazaar, with tents taking up almost every bit of space, each one selling one for of item to another, ranging from carpets to grilled lizards. While I wondered how dragons could even get around in such closed quarters, a shady looking dragon appeared out of a corner, quickly handing Sunny a card before moving again.

As Sunny had the card taken away from her by Six Claws, saying it wasn't the best she could have been offered, and with me questioning if my years of getting through crowded school hallways would help me here, the three of us were stopped in place as we met an intersection. After stepping around the corner and into the mildly larger walking area, we stopped in place after hearing a female dragon shout "You!" towards us. I had no time to react as I turned towards where the sound had come from, in which I immediately came face to face with a Sandwing, who was currently pouncing at me.

We tumbled onto the street, with Sunny calling after me and Six Claws moving over to pull the Sandwing off of me. As he did so, I began to get up myself, looking over the Sandwing that had tackled me. As I did so, I realized I recognized this Sandwing, and I felt all of the air in my lungs leave me as I stared at her. This female Sandwing perfectly resembled the one I was forced to fight in Scarlet's arena, Sahara, who had been permanently put in my mind as the first dragon I believed to have killed. There was one thing different about her which only supported the fact that it was her, which was a strange star shaped black scar on her chest, which stemmed directly from where my lightning had struck her.

"Hey, get off of me! I have business with this dragon!" She shouted at Six Claws, pulling away from his grip and turning back towards me. "You!" She shouted at me once again, making me flinch. "Do you know how much pain your lightning causes? It felt like I was being pricked by thousands of cactus needles at once! And the experiences I've faced since our encounter, such as being chased by Skywing guards while still recovering from your nasty shock, along with having to make my way here with no friends and only dragons wanting to stand me in the back. And also.."

I cringed, preparing for her to continue. I knew what I had done to her was wrong, and that I had indeed hurt her. I was glad that she was alive, and was ready for every painful word she threw at me, knowing that I deserved it. I was not expecting what she said next, though. "...thank you." I flinched, then blinked, looking back at her, in which she was looking at me with a sincere expression. "If it wasn't for what you had done, I'd still be fighting in Scarlet's arena, or worst. I owe you my life, and for that, thank you."

She then turned towards Six Claws. "Do I have permission to show him around? I'd like to talk to him for a bit."

At that, Six Claws looked uncertain, meanwhile Sunny was shaking her head, not wanting to be separated. "I don't know, Sahara. We thought that maybe Thorn would be interested in seeing these dragons, since they were following those Nightwings that just passed by. I'd rather keep them in a group then to split them up."

I decided to cut it. "And as much as I do want to talk to you, especially to apologize about hurting you so much, I'd rather stay with Sunny, in case anything happens."

"Nothing will happen to your friend as long as she sticks with Six Claws, especially if she's going to see Thorn." She then turned back towards Six Claws. "I'll just take him around the area, then bring him straight back to Thorn. I would appreciate being able to talk to him, so if you'd give me permission to do so, I'd be grateful."

After thinking for a second, Six Claws sighed. "Alright, as long as you bring him straight to Thorn once you're done, and if it's okay with him." He said, gesturing towards me. I stood there, unsure of what to do, but after looking towards Sunny, who looked hesitant at first, she slowly nodded, and I agreed to go with her.

Sahara beamed at this, grabbing me by the hand and pulling me through a random alley, giving me hardly any time to wave to Sunny as she was ushered forwards once more by Six Claws. When we had moved a good bit, she let go, turning towards me and beginning to speak. "Just so you know, in case you're thinking about it, I'm not planning to kill you or anything. I really meant it when I thanked you for saving my life."

I gave her a strange look before slowly nodding. "Alright. I actually wasn't thinking about that, so now I'm actually nervous." I then gave her a sincere look. "I really am sorry about hurting you, though. I actually thought for the longest time I had killed you with what I had done. But even then, I'm really sorry for the pain I put you through, especially now that you have that mark to show of my mistake."

Sahara stopped, looking at me seriously. "Look, Static, if it hadn't been for what you had done, I would be dead or worst. After I escaped though, I decided to change my lifestyle, no longer wanting a place in the war knowing I would only cause others pain like that I had felt. I left the army, which I wouldn't have done if I had just escaped by my own means. Im part of the guards here, known as the Outclaws, who are actually trying to make a peaceful difference here in the Scorpion Den. And none of that would have happened if you hadn't pretended to kill me that day." She then grinned and looked at her scar. "Besides, I think this looks pretty cool, and there's no one else in Pyrrhia who can have it naturally."

I stood there, examining this Sandwing in front of me. I had caused her so much pain, and yet she said that due to that pain, I had changed her life for the better. All I could do was stand there, lost in thought, thinking whether or not I should accept her forgiveness, or to decline, knowing I didn't deserve it. However, it the back of my mind, I knew what the correct answer was, and thus sighed. "Alright. I don't like the fact that I had to hurt you, but if you say everything is alright, then I'll just forget it."

She smiled and nudged me with her wing. "That's the spirit." She said, before beginning to walk again. "So, tell me about yourself then. All I know about you is that you're and odd looking dragon named Static who can breath lightning an, if the rumors are true, that you've been aiding the dragonets of destiny in their quest, which just begs the question as to what you're doing here of all places."

As we walked I thought about what I should tell her. However, sensing a possible ally, I decided to tell her most of the truth, telling her the basic gist of my adventures so far. I explained how I indeed was aiding the dragonets, and was even friends with them, and I told her of our adventures, but left out parts such as what was happening in the rainforest with the Nightwings, the Seawing's animus, and, of course, that I was actually human.

However, just from what I had told her, Sahra's eyes were practically sparkling. "Wow," she said. "I wish I could have adventures like that. The only exciting things I've done so far is stop a Sandwing from stealing a coconut and finding this necklace after a strange Sandwing dropped it and disappeared." As she said that, she held up the said necklace, which matched perfectly with her scar.

"Actually, you really wouldn't." I said. "I actually died because of it. I got stung near the heart by Blister's tail barb while we were escaping the Seawing palace. I know, that sounds weird, since I'm standing here still. I don't know how, but I came back after a lightning bolt hit where the dragonets buried me. If you want to, you can always ask the dragonets if you ever meet them."

Sahara looked skeptical still, but nodded. I expected as much. Telling someone you died but came back perfectly healthy isn't exactly the most believable thing, even in a world of flying fire breathing lizards. We continued to walk through the streets, talking to each other about what we had experienced since the arena, meanwhile I was getting plenty of stares from other dragons, due to my odd appearance. I ignored them, instead focusing on Sahara, who I was enjoying having a conversation with.

While we talked, I got to learn more about Sahara. As I had guessed, she only a bit older than me, being ten in normal years, which was about the human equivalent to around twenty. She had originally joined the fight only a few years ago, having helped in the kitchens until she was fully grown. Once she was old enough to fight, she joined Blaze's spy channel, signing up to keep and eye on Scarlet.

She actually did very well, until one day, as she was flying back to her normal hiding spot, she found it had been found by Skywing guards. As she tried to get away, it was already to late, with the guards having set up an ambush, thus catching her. After that, she was forced to fight a Seawing in Scarlet's arena, before then being forced to fight me. After that, she managed to escape, and thus, not wanting any place in the war, especially as she recovered, she went and hid in the Scorpion Den, where she eventually got the current position of an Outclaw she currently had, though she was still a mildly low ranked member.

While she finished talking, she looked ahead and sighed. "Well, it was really nice getting to talk with you Static. I hope we get to do it more, later. However, for now, we've arrived at our destination." She ushered me forwards, opening the tent flap that was the entrance for me. I walked in, followed by Sahara. I was not expecting the sight that beheld me.

Standing in front of me was Sunny, who was currently being hugged by a female Sandwing, who currently had blood dripping off of her tail barb, meanwhile the Nightwing who had the mirror layed dead behind her.

" _Huh"_ I thought. " _This is mildly worrying."_

 **Author's Note: Hey there everyone. Another week, another chapter. I actually don't have that much to say this week, so I guess I'll just say an announcement and then the usual stuff. Once more, I'm going to be busy for two weeks, but I'm currently writing ahead again, and the chapters will still be up in time. They'll just have casual author notes is all, and will be released a couple hours earlier than normal. So, as usual, thank you so much for reading, glad you're enjoying my story, and the next chapter will be up next week.**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

As I stared at the two standing in the middle of the room, I couldn't help but think I was missing some context. Why was this Sandwing hugging Sunny? Why did she kill that Nightwing? Where did the other two Nightwings go? Was Sunny accepting the hug, because from where I was standing she looked incredibly surprised about something.

Not sure about whether or not I should interrupt the moment, I decided to stand there in silence, meanwhile Sahara took a position next to Six Claws, who was standing outside of the tent, nodding at me before leaving. As I looked around, that left me with just the two Sandwings hugging in front of me, along with a younger looking Sandwing with freckles and an earring on the other side of the room, staring at me as if he was examining every detail of me. To be completely honest, I had no idea of what I was supposed to do about anything at that moment.

However, the moment soon ended, with the two of them parting. Now that I could see the Sandwing's face, I could tell she was genuinely happy to see Sunny, as if she had just found something she had been looking for forever, which started making me wonder and create suspicions as to who she was. I didn't get to think for long before she noticed me, however, her happy look turning down just a little, but still smiling. "Ah, you must be Sunny's friend that she came here with, correct?"

I began to answer, with Sunny turning towards me and smiling as well, happy to see me again. "Yes, that's correct. My name is Static, and I was helping Sunny while she gave chase to those Nightwings, which makes me want to raise the question as to why that one is lying dead right behind you."

The Sandwing shifted her gaze to the corpse, then back to me. "Yes, that was a mistake of mine. I acted rashly when he gave me news I most definitely didn't want to hear. His friends are alright though, currently locked up in our cells until we figure out what to do with them." She said, looking up at me with a questionable gaze. "So you're the dragon that's been aiding the dragonets of destiny in their quest to end the war?"

I nodded. "That is correct. I actually wasn't sure if I was going to say anything, but since it seems Sunny trusts you, I'm fine with talking about it." I said, taking a seat on the carpeted floor of the tent. "I've been helping the dragonets on the journey, all the while trying to find out more about myself, since, as you can see, I'm not from around here. I've found out more, but for me to continue my journey, I'd have to abandon the dragonets, and I'm not going to do that until I make sure that they're journey is complete."

She nodded, taking a seat as well along with Sunny, who she wrapped her wing around, with the other Sandwing taking a seat as well, though looking like he could pounce at any second. "That is very noble of you." The Sandwing said. "There are many here who would love to be in your position, risking their lives so the prophecy can be fulfilled."

I nodded. "I know. And I've been doing everything I can to prevent them from being harmed. It's not easy though, and I wouldn't want anyone else to experience the pain I've experienced to keep them safe." On that morose not, I decided to change the topic. "But anyway, I am curious as to why I walked into you hugging Sunny. Sure, Sunny is a huggy dragon, but last time I checked, she doesn't hug the first dragon she sees."

She smiled and pulled Sunny in closer into her hug as she explained. "As it turns out, Sunny here is my daughter." She proceeded to point to a few wanted posters on the ground, one of which I recognized as Morrowseer, though I didn't recognize another Nightwing and a Sandwing. "Dune there had betrayed me, stealing Sunny's egg for the prophecy."

I nodded. "Then I'm glad you two have finally found each other. But of course, that raises the question as to what you're going to do now, both of you. Sunny, we should really tell the others that you're fine. But then again, I feel like you'll want to spend a bit more time with her...I'm sorry, I don't think I've learned your name yet."

The Sandwing nodded. "Of course I'll want to spend more time with my daughter. And my name is Thorn, leader of the Outclaws." She then turned back towards Sunny. "But that's entirely up to you, beetle." When she said that, she looked at Sunny with what seemed like a pleading look.

Sunny proceeded to answer how I thought she would, saying she would stay for at least a bit longer. As I watched the two of them hug again, I couldn't help but think back to my own family again. Once more, I felt a longing feeling to get home, to find my family again, and to hug them all and never let go.

As they parted, Thorn pointed over to a side of the room with plenty of pillows. She told us that we were probably tired from our travels, and was offering us a place to sleep for a bit. We gradually accepted, having flown several hours with only brief periods of rest. The two of us went over to the pillows, taking our separate places and accepting the beauty that is sleep.

Strangely enough, I did not encounter Fathom that time, when I fell asleep, even though I knew I needed to talk to him. I wasn't sure if he was busy, or if he was purposely blocking me for some odd reason, but either way, I wasn't able to talk to him that night.

When I awoke, it was to Sunny nudging me in the side, trying to get me to get up. I ignored her, however, not wanting to get up. She persisted, but after failing to get me up but straight up wacking me in the face with her wing, she sighed. "Static, Six Claws is going to show me around the Scorpion Den. Stay here for me until I get back, alright?" I mumbled a response, which I guessed she probably rolled her eyes at, and then she left.

I was forced to wake up from a pleasant dream shortly after, however, due to someone pulling the rug that was under me quickly enough that the rug was gone, and I was flipped onto my back. As my eyes shot open from the mild pain of landing on my wings, I quickly shot up to find Sahara standing there, wearing a serious expression on her face.

"We have to go get Thorn, now. You're friend was just kidnapped and is going to be given to Burn." My eyes shot wide open as she turned around, quickly heading out the door. I followed her, wanting to ask her who had taken her and which way was Burn's palace as she took to the sky outside the tent.

With my wings carrying me after her, I shouted after Sahara as we flew over the Scorpion Den, headed in the direction of where it looked like a fire had been recently put out. "What do you mean, Sunny was kidnapped? I thought she had Six Claws looking after her! Who took her, and why?" I asked as we got closer to the smoke, beginning to circle over the area as Sahara began to look for Thorn.

"His name is Addax." Sahara said. "He took Sunny because he was once part of Burn's army, and is hoping by giving over Sunny, he'll be allowed back in her army. I don't know the specifics of what happened, since I had walked in on their encounter and watched hidden from a distance, from what I had gathered, Six Claws was forced to hand over Sunny, since Addax also had his daughter hostage...and there she is!"

Sahara began to dive towards the ground, heading straight for the dragon I recognized as Thorn, who was being followed by the smaller dragon once more. When we landed, Thorn looked mildly surprised, along with the smaller dragon taking on a defensive stance, before she saw the serious expressions on our faces. "What happened." She asked, getting straight to the point.

Sahara proceeded to explain to Thorn what she had seen take place, and by the end of it, everyone had to give Thorn some space, with her tail flying everywhere madly. "Then the fire was just a diversion." She said. "There probably isn't even a dragonbite viper here. Qibli!" She said, turning to the younger dragon. "Start gathering as many of the Outclaws as possible. Once the morning sun is out, we are going to storm Burn's castle."

Qibli looked uncertain for a moment, as if thinking that wasn't the greatest plan, but nodded immediately, quickly opening his wings and flying into the sky. Thorn then turned back towards us. "Let's go get ready ourselves. We're going to be fighting a portion of Blaze's army, so we have to be ready." She turned towards Sahara. "Go take our friend here to the armory, and get him a spare set of armor. I have to go prepare the Outclaws."

Sahara nodded, pulling me into the sky as Thorn flew the opposite way. We flew towards a random part of the Scorpion Den, and I couldn't help but think how things could have gone differently if I had decided to go with Sunny earlier, instead of staying lazily asleep.

When we arrived, we landed in front of a stone building with two Outclaw guards standing in front of it. Sahara explained what was happening, and they let us through. When we entered, I was surprised at the amount of spears, swords, knives, and pieces of dragon armor was in there. Of course, it was only basic leather armor, which only protected the body, along with a helmet, which left the wings, limbs and tail exposed. But then again, I decided to wear it, thinking it would be better than getting scratched or set on fire head on.

After looking for a few seconds, Sahara gave me a set of armor, and began helping me to put it on. I accepted the help, and we began figuring out the long process of putting on dragon armor. I felt a bit awkward, having Sahara so close to me, but I shrugged it off, knowing I had to focus on helping Sunny.

Once that was done, I put on the helmet as Sahara began to put her own armor on. As she did that, I looked into the reflection of several of the weapons, wishing I had armor like this back home. Once Sahara had finished, more dragons were beginning to pile into the armory, more than likely gearing up for the attack on the Sandwing palace.

When we were done, Sahara lead the way once more, telling me we were going to go to a central fountain, which, after asking a Outclaw who had just gotten to the armory, was where Thorn had told everyone to gather.

Once we arrived, we found Thorn standing over a drawing in the sand of what was more than likely Burn's stronghold, standing with Qibli, who was panting slightly from all the quick flying he had done, along with Six Claws, who looked extremely guilty. I walked over to them, meanwhile Sahara joined the ranks of the other Outclaws, who were beginning to arrive.

When I arrived, Thorn was discussing with Six Claws and Qibli that we were going to perform a quick frontal assault, wanting to get Sunny in and out before any of the guards there knew what was happening. When I arrived, she looked up at me. "I take it you'll want to be part of the frontal assault, Static?" She asked me.

I nodded. "You guessed correctly. Just tell me where Sunny is most likely to be in that stronghold. As you might or might not have heard, I breath lightning, and can give us a straight path through any guards, as long as I'm headed in the right direction."

Thorn nodded, then pointed at the drawing. "We're going to be coming in from this side, and if we are correct, Sunny is either being held in the prison cells of the palace, or in Burn's weirdling tower, which is where she's collected all of the strange things she has found over the years. We'll try the tower first, since it is above ground and will be easier to access." She then looked towards the sky. "We'll leave as soon as the sun starts to rise, when Burn's guards will be rotating positions. Until then, I need to go address my troops. Static, stay here with Qibli and Six Claws until it is time to leave. I'm putting a lot of trust into you, so you better stick to your word and help me save my daughter."

I nodded as Thorn went over to the large fountain, flying over it and beginning to speak loudly so all of the Outclaws could hear her plan. She started off saying that only those that wanted to join her had to, and the rest would stay here and do guard duty as normal. I was surprised to see that no one moved, and I began to wonder just how much trust these Outclaws put into Thorn, making me see her as a natural leader. Remembering what she had said, I knew I was putting a lot of trust into her as well, and would have to rely on her information being correct if we were to get Sunny out of this with all of us still fine.

As we watched Thorn give her speech, I felt both Qibli and Six Claws walk up beside me, with Six Claws speaking first. "I really am sorry that I couldn't stop Sunny from being kidnapped. I understand if you're upset, since from what I've learned, your role is to protect the dragonets such as Sunny."

I shook my head. "I'm not upset. I heard what happened from Sahara, who saw what had happened. It's perfectly understandable if you were doing it to save someone you care about. I just hope that we won't be too late, and that nothing bad has happened to Sunny yet."

While Six Claws looked both mildly relieved had slightly worried at the same time, Qibli spoke next. "I can't seem to figure you out." He said. "I've never met another dragon besides Thorn who would be willing to risk so much for one dragon, and even then, you're doing it for unselfish goals. Why is that?" He asked me.

I shrugged, still watching over the Outclaws, who were looking more and more motivated every passing second as Thorn continued her speech. "Because I know it's the right thing to do." I said. "Sunny is my friend, and she needs help. As her friend, shouldn't it be my job to help her when she needs it?"

Six Claws spoke up again. "I thought you were doing it because you're trying to help the dragonets of destiny." He said. "So are you doing this as a friend, or as the savior of the dragonets? Or is there more to it than that?" He asked.

I shook my head again. "No. Sunny and I are just friends, though I did have to turn her down when she wanted more than that. Like I've said, I'm not from around here, and I don't want to disappoint anyone when I have to leave. As for the dragonets, I do what I do because I am their friend, not because I have some form of duty to help them. It's the right thing to do, helping others and expecting no rewards other than their kindness, and I gladly accepted the friendship of the dragonets, since they've done so much to help me in my time here."

Six Claws nodded in understanding while Qibli looked confused once more. However, Thorn was finishing her speech, and it was time to fly. Once Thorn gave the word, she took to the air, with Six Claws telling us it was time to go as he did the same. We followed him into the sky, flying next to Thorn, meanwhile the rest of the Outclaws flew behind us.

Once we were steadily in the sky and heading in a certain direction, Qibli spoke up once more. "So where are you from then?" He asked. "It must be better than around here, if the dragons around there are anything like you."

I laughed at that before responding. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you where I'm from. And let me tell you, my morals are rare at times where I come from. For the most part, things back home aren't too different from here, except for the fact of how many times I've had to fight for my life since I've gotten here."

Qibli looked like he wanted to ask more, but he stayed quiet, looking like he was intensely thinking. I decided it was time to focus as well, knowing I was about to go into a large battle. I still didn't like the aspect of having to hurt others, but looking at myself now, I could only see how much I had changed since I was brought to this world. Before, I had been almost a complete pacifist, whereas now I would be okay with temporarily hurting others as long as it was to save my friends and if I knew the dragon wouldn't die from their wounds.

Shaking my head, I knew that as soon as this adventure was over, I was going to have to reevaluate my stance on violence. But until then, I focused on the task at hand, which was saving Sunny. The sun had already begun to rise, lighting the sand of the desert in the glow of the early morning sun. For a while, all that was in the desert was sand and the occasional cactus, leaving me with plenty of time to think.

However, after a while of flying, a structure began to appear in the distance, and from its size and it's large outside walls, I could only presume it was Burn's stronghold, the old Sandwing palace. As we began to get closer, I saw the disturbing sight of dragon heads mounted on pikes on the outside walls, with the scent hitting me soon after. I couldn't help but grimace, wondering just how messed up in the head Burn was.

I didn't get to think about it for too long, however, as a contingent of Sandwing guards began flying our way. Thorn started shouting out orders, telling the Outclaws to begin the attack. Several other Sandwings flew past us, heading straight towards the oncoming guards. Thus, the attack on Burn's stronghold to rescue Sunny had officially begun.

As the Outclaws began to fight, we continued flying forwards, more and more Sandwing guards appearing as time went on, with more Outclaws breaking off from our group to fight them. As time wore on, more and more of the Outclaws dispersed from the group, until we eventually reached a large central clearing, and we were forced to begin fighting ourselves.

While I blasted through the first few Sandwings, sending them skittering away or being shocked, Thorn and the others began fighting the Sandwing guards the normal way, with tooth and claw, along with their poisonous tail barb. With my lightning done, more guards began to swoop in to take their place, and I began to wonder if this was a good idea or not.

However, I knew Sunny was more than likely close, with the tower she was possibly in in my sights. I pushed forwards, swinging my tail and fists to knock away any Sandwings, still not wanting to use my claws and potentially kill them. It actually worked at first, knocking a few guards into each other and out of my way, but the guards were still getting too close for my liking, raising their tail barbs threateningly. I dodged away quickly, stopping my swinging to avoid getting hit by a tail barb.

As I prepared another burst of lightning, I heard a collision occur behind me, quickly turning around. Sahara and appeared behind me, knocking away a guard and breathing a burst of fire after him, and I could only have suspected what that guard had planned to do from behind me. I nodded at Sahara in thanks before turning forwards once more, letting out a fresh wave of sparks.

As I continued forwards, I saw even more guards standing in front of the tower. I presumed this meant that this meant something important was in there, and I could only hope it was Sunny. However, before I could continue, I heard a cry in pain from behind me. Swinging around, with my tail hitting a guard behind me in the process, I turned to see that Sahara had been ganged up on by two Sandwings, both preparing to breath bursts of fire on her after knocking her to the ground.

With my lightning needing time to recharge, I burst forwards, hoping I had enough time. I tackled one Sandwing away, hitting him with as much force to his head as possible. However, as he fell to the ground unconscious, I turned around to find the other Sandwing releasing the flames from his mouth. I wasn't close enough to stop him, but I was close enough to stop the fire from hitting Sahara.

Knowing what I needed to do, I jumped forwards, giving me a head on collision with a burst of flames. I held my jaw shut as pain erupted all around me, but it was only for a second, as I continued forwards, slamming my fists into the Sandwing, sending him down to the ground.

However, as I made sure that he wouldn't be getting up for the rest of the fight, I felt the effects of his flames. Looking over myself, I saw that my arms and wings were badly burned, and I could see a bit of black around my snout. That was all the damage I could see before the pain fully engulfed me, sending me down to the ground.

I wasn't sure what happened next fully, as I was in pain for a good chunk of it, but I'll recall them with as much as I can remember, along with other accounts. As I fell to the ground, screaming, there was a series of "No!" shouted, the only one I heard was from Sahara, who was quickly at my side. However, two others had shouted it, with them both flying over the main group of fighting.

As the two figures overhead began to stop the fighting, I could hear Sahara overtop me, whispering "No" over to herself as she looked me over, while I continued rolling in pain. Sahara held me still though, trying to get me to stop. As she stopped me from hurting my burns anymore, I felt a sense of calm rush over me. As that happened, Sahara continued to murmur to herself, saying that she already owed me too much, and wondered why I had to stop the fire from hitting her. As she said this, I felt a single drop which I could only presume to be Sahara's tear drop onto me, before there was a small flash of light.

When the light cleared, I opened my eyes, realization hitting me. I was no longer in pain, and everything such as my wings felt fine. I looked up, seeing Sahara looking down at me with a shocked expression, her gaze drifting back between me and the necklace she was wearing. I got up, looking over myself, but I soon realized that there were no traces of the wounds I just had. I looked back over to Sahara, who had her necklace cupped in her hands, still changing her gaze back and forth. "Sahara, what happened?" I asked her.

"I...I don't know. You were so burned...I didn't know what to do….and then the necklace flashed a light, and when the light was gone...you were healed." Sahara got up, letting the necklace drop back against her scales before walking over to me and hugging me. "Stop making me have to owe you so much!" She said.

I hugged her back for a second before letting go. "Well, you kinda saved my life, thanks to your necklace, so I think we're even this time." I looked at the strange necklace, wondering more about it. "I would ask about that, but we are currently in the middle of an enemy fortress, so we'll have to discuss it later." I actually looked around then, seeing that the fighting had stopped. "Hey, what's going on anyway?" I asked.

We both looked around to see that the fighting had come to a complete standstill. Before I could ask anyone about what had happened, I suddenly heard someone yell my name from the sky. Looking up, I had enough time to see Sunny before she crashed into me, giving me a hug. "You're alright!" She said, hugging me tighter. "But I thought I saw you engulfed in flames!" She said, letting go and looking up at me.

I nodded. "I did, since I was trying to protect Sahara here. Thankfully, Sahara's necklace seems to have some kind of...power, I guess, so I'm better now." I then looked at Sunny for a second in silence. "By the way, we're kinda here to rescue you, so...yeah. Thorn really wanted to get you back after Sahara told her what happened, along with Six Claws, and we've all come here to get you back. Speaking of which, do you know why everyone's stopped fighting?"

Sunny smiled, then looked behind me. "I appreciate everyone doing so much just for me, but I don't like the fact that so many are getting _hurt_ because of me. As to why everyone's stopped fighting, it was because I wanted the fighting to stop, and I got some help."

"Help? I asked, wondering who could stop two armies from fighting so suddenly. "Who did you get to help you, especially if you were being held prisoner here?" As I asked this, Sunny pointed behind me. I turned around, my eyes widening at who was standing there.

Standing before me was Peril, who was smiling at me while still giving sharp looks left and right to a few Sandwings. "Static, it's so good to see you again!" She said. As she walked up to me, I heard wingbeats behind me, and I turned to see that Sunny was talking to her mother. I turned back, smiling back at Peril as well.

"It's good to see you as well, Peril. How have you been doing lately?" I asked. "I mean, it's been awhile since we last saw you, after we escaped from Scarlett. Actually, now that I think about it, what are you doing here of all places? Sure, I appreciate the fact that you stopped a giant fight, but I feel like there's a reason you're here instead of somewhere else right now."

Peril's smile took a slight dip at that. "You're not going to be happy if I tell you why I'm here." She said. She then tried to change the topic, though I knew I was going to continue that conversation. As she continued, though, she started walking towards the large tower. "How have you been doing, other than being engulfed in flames a moment ago? And...how's Clay?" She asked.

As I spoke, I noticed another Sandwing had joined our group and was walking ahead of us. My eyes had narrowed for a moment as I recognized the scales that Blister had, but I realized he was a guy, and he was actually clearing the guards in front of us, making me wonder who he was and what he was doing. "I've been doing well, well, as well as anyone can in the middle of a war. Clay is also fine, and I know he'll probably be wishing he was here so he could talk to you as well. I know how good friends the two of you are, after all. But either way, I'm still curious to why we're here, and why we're about to enter this tower while the dragon who holds the keys stands behind us?" I asked

At that, Thorn gave the dragon a look, as he shrugged and thus went forward, leading the group once more. Peril continued. "Well, as for your group, the Sandwing with Sunny wants to go look at a stuffed Nightwing that Burn has. As for me, well…" As she said that, we had entered the tower, and a shouting could be heard. However, I recognized the voice of the shouting dragon, and my eyes went wide.

As we continued, we went up the winding stairs of the tower, though we had to give Peril more space. We had all gone silent, with Peril looking sad to herself, making me certain what she was doing here. While we walked up the stairs, the shouting got louder and louder, making me more and more sure about who was in this tower.

When we reached the top of one floor, my suspicions were confirmed. Standing on one side of the room, chained to the wall, was the Queen of the Skywings, the one who had kept me prisoner and forced me to fight, Queen Scarlett. She looked like she had seen better days, with the part of her face that Glory had hit with her venom horribly disfigured. The disfiguration didn't stop her glare at us, especially when she saw me.

"YOU!" She shouted. "You were one of those horrible dragons that did this to me!" I gave her a blank look as she started throwing stuff at me, which I realized were pieces of giant bugs and even a few Nightwing parts with stuffing in them. I held my gaze though, dodging the items she chucked at me.

"And I'm glad I did." I said. "This is a fate suited for someone such as you. I don't like violence, and I detest others being treated horribly. But you deserve this." I turned towards Sunny, who was looking at me in mild shock at what I had said. "Finish whatever it is that you need here." I told her, turning towards Peril. "Peril and I need to speak for a moment." Sunny nodded as Peril took the hint, going down the stairs of the tower.

We went to the floor just below, and I couldn't help but shiver as the room was covered in strange, disfigured and dead creatures. I ignored them, however, turning towards Peril. "Tell me why I shouldn't blast that witch with all the lightning I have to give, and why you think releasing her is a good idea."

Peril gave me a saddened look. "I'm sorry Static, but Scarlett is the closest thing to a mother that I've ever had. I tried to do more with Kestrel, but I had only just met her, and now...Sunny told me what had happened to her. It's too late for that now." She then gave me a pleading look. "Static, please, just let me take her and you'll never have to see her again!" She said. "I'll watch over her! Nothing she could do could ever hurt me anyway. What better way to make sure she's watched?"

I shook my head. "You know as well as I do that Scarlett doesn't love you Peril. She used you as a weapon, her plaything, nothing more." I softened my gaze towards her. "I won't try to stop you though. I couldn't, even if I wanted to. But before you make your final decision Peril, ask yourself this: Is this the right thing to do? And would Scarlett do the same thing for you?" I turned around, heading towards the stairs. "It was nice to see you again, Peril. I wish you the best of luck, and I hope that everything turns out alright for you."

With that done, I left, going to wait outside the tower until Sunny and Thorn were done. Little did I know that Burn was on her way there, and if she got there before we were gone, it would be almost certain that Sunny and I would die.

 **Author's Note: As usual, thank you so much for reading my story and for your support. Kinda wishing there were more comments, since they've died down a bit, but that's alright, as long as I know you're enjoying my story. So thank you all for reading my story, and the next chapter will be up next week.**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

After waiting for some time, Sunny and Thorn walked out of the tower, followed by the dragon who looked like Blister. As they walked out, I walked beside Sunny and started talking to her. "So are we finally going to leave this place before Burn's soldiers and Blaze's army starts fighting again?" I asked her.

Thorn shook her head, answering for Sunny. "Not yet. I've already ordered my Outclaws to retreat, so there will be no problem from them. However, Smolder here says that there might be a letter in Burn's vault that was addressed for me, and if he's correct, it is from a certain dragon I've been looking for. You are welcome to head back to the Scorpion Den and wait for us there, Static, but I'd rather keep Sunny with me until I'm done here."

I shook my head. "I wasn't with Sunny when she got captured before. I won't risk it happening again. If it's alright with you, I think I'll stick around until you're done here." With that, Thorn nodded as we continued walking, following the Sandwing known as Smolder as he continued walking in front of us.

As we walked, Sunny nudged me with a wing, giving me a concerned look. "Are you alright, Static?" She asked. "Seeing Scarlett, and the way you reacted….are you okay?"

I nodded, though my thoughts started to drift, wondering why I acted so hostile. "I'm fine. It's just...Scarlett has done so much wrong in this world, including forcing both me and your friends to fight, while treating you like an item to be given to Burn. Thinking about everything she's done, and then finding out Peril was going to _release her_ of all things...it doesn't matter. I'm fine Sunny, so don't worry."

Before Sunny could more than likely try to continue, we arrived at our destination, with Smolder opening a large door after unlocking it with a key. As we walked into the room, I was surprised by the sheer amount of letters and scrolls in the room, knowing Starflight would give a lot to be in this room. Well, that is if it was organized, which it wasn't, due to how letters were thrown about everywhere.

While I questioned why this room was so disastrous even though it was an obvious fire hazard, I heard the door shutting behind us. Swinging around, I saw that Thorn and Sunny had entered the room, but before anyone could stop him, Smolder apologized before shutting the door, quickly locking it from the other side.

While Sunny and Thorn tried to open the door by force, Smolder apologized on the other side, hoping that by giving Burn Sunny, me and Thorn, he'd be able to live another day. As those two kept yelling at Smolder and trying to force the door open, I began looking around the room, looking for another way out.

After searching for a second, I realized that the only entrance and exit in this room was the single door, making me think just how much more of a fire hazard this room was. As Sunny began talking to her mother about ways to get through the door, with the obvious being fire if it didn't kill us first, I began looking around the bookshelves, seeing if I could find a spare key or something to pick the lock with.

However, my search wasn't needed as Sunny began breathing small plumes of fire on the outside of the knob, trying to burn around it. While she did that, I saw something catch Thorn's gaze as she picked up a scroll. As I went over to help Sunny, using my claws on the burnt wood to speed up the process, Thorn spoke up.

Thorn said that Smolder wasn't lying, and that there was a letter to her as Sunny and I made more progress on the door. However, when Thorn revealed it was from the Nightwing she was looking for. Sunny stopped, looking over to her mother, asking why this Nightwing was so important. Thorn looked at Sunny and explained something that when I really thought about it, it made a lot of sense.

Sunny was half Nightwing. That got me to stop for a second as well, with Sunny staring at her mother in shock. However, as those two began talking, with Sunny saying she wanted to be nothing like the Nightwings, I continued clawing as the wood around the lock, even though I wasn't making as much progress now that Sunny wasn't helping.

After the point where Thorn had explained to Sunny some about Sunny's father, who was known as Stonemover and the letter revealed that he was at the top of Jade mountain, I had reached a point where I couldn't get my claw in any deeper in the wood. I turned towards Sunny, asking her to finish with the door so we could escape before it was too late.

Sunny nodded after a moment, still slightly in shock. As she finished with the lock, I walked up to Thorn. "You know," I said. "I think since I've been here, you're the first dragon I've met that has had a partner from another tribe."

Thorn nodded. "I don't doubt that. Many find it unwanted and strange, with dragons such as Burn and Scarlett completely disgusted by the concept. However, rare as it is, it still happens, with some dragons finding love in each other even if they're not from the same tribe." She then smiled at me. "And since you're the only type of dragon I've seen like you, you better hope you find someone like that one day."

I rolled my eyes, smiling as well. "I'm sure I'll find someone, though i'd still like to get home before that happens, and I can't do that until this war is over and the dragonets are safe." I sighed. "There's still a lot to do yet, and honestly, I can't wait until I find time to rest after all of this."

Thorn laughed a bit, easily agreeing with me on that. I could only imagine what her job as leader of the Outclaws consisted of, so I knew she probably knew what I was talking about. As Thorn finished her chuckling, Sunny shouted out in glee as the lock fell out of the door. She quickly pushed it open with the help of Thorn and I, and soon we were free.

And not a moment too soon, as I could see what appeared to be Burn approaching the stronghold, along with a contingent of her guards. We quickly began flying back towards the way we came, heading back to the Scorpion Den. However, we made a quick stop, with Thorn grabbing and yelling at Qibli and Six Claws, who were still there and were still fighting after Thorn had disappeared.

As we all began to fly back, I swooped over to Sunny. "I know you just got finished being rescued and all, but I've been thinking about it, and I've realized it's been about three days since we've left the rainforest. The others are probably worried sick, and we should really get back." I then looked towards Thorn, who every now and then kept looking back towards Sunny, making sure she was still there. "But it's up to you, of course. Now that you're back with Thorn, you'll be safe, and I can at least fly back and tell the others what happened. I'd understand if you wanted to spend more time with her, after all."

Sunny shook her head. "No, we need to get back to the others. Ever since we've arrived here, I've been realizing more and more what this war is doing to dragons. I need to get back to my friends because we need to figure out a way to end this, once and for all." She then looked over at Thorn. "I do want to spend more time with my mother, but I know what needs to be done. Besides, if we can end the war now, prophecy or not, it'll mean she won't be in any more danger, especially when Burn figures out it was her who attacked her stronghold."

I looked at Sunny with a curious look. It was nice she wanted to end the war, even if the prophecy was fake, but what was her plan. I knew I'd have to ask her later, of course, but for now I let her fly over to Thorn, telling her we were going back to the rainforest. Thorn looked disappointed at first, but after a moment she nodded, understanding why Sunny needed to get back.

Surprisingly enough, Thorn then flew over to me after she was done talking to Sunny. "You better make sure my daughter stays safe on your journey back." She said. "And good luck in your journey, both with the dragonets and afterwards. Just make sure they stay safe, alright?"

I nodded. "That's what I've been doing this whole time, and I have no plan to stop now. Sunny will be safe, don't worry. As for everything else, thank you, and good luck to you as well. Be sure to tell Sahara I'm sorry for leaving without saying goodbye, and that I'm sure we'll see each other again."

Thorn nodded, waving goodbye as Sunny and I began to change our direction of flight, heading for the direction of the rainforest, where the rest of the dragonets were waiting for us. As we flew, I asked Sunny what her plan was, but she remained silent, saying she was still thinking and wanted to discuss it with the others.

We didn't stop flying for a while, only taking a single break to get food and water as we traveled. Our plan was to head straight to the rainforest, and we weren't going to stop until we got there. Or, at least, that was the plan, until a large storm began to appear around the halfway point, when we had reached the large mountain range.

As the storm approached, I could see a large mountain ahead of us, and since it was the tallest one I had seen in the range, I could only presume it was Jade mountain. Seeing the look in Sunny's eyes, along with the approaching storm, I knew it would be best if we seeked cover in the mountain and looked for her father while we waited the storm out. After checking with Sunny, she quickly agreed, and we flew to the mountain.

We weren't fast enough to get there before the storm did, and as we searched for a cave at the top of the mountain, the two of us began to get drenched by the storm, which had wind blowing so fast that I had to be careful with my flying. After a few minutes of searching through the rain, we finally spotted a cave near the top, and flew into it.

Once out of the rain, we shook off as much water as we could off our scales as we looked around the cave. It was empty, but noticeably went deeper into the mountain. After a moment, Sunny picked up a large branch that had been blown into the cave by the storm, and proceeded to light the tip on fire, showing us more of our surroundings.

Sunny and I began to walk deeper into the cave, with Sunny taking the lead with the makeshift torch. We walked deeper and deeper into the mountain, meanwhile I was beginning to be surprised that there was such a deep tunnel system in the mountain.

While I began to ponder if these tunnels were natural or not, Sunny stopped, telling me to be quiet for a second. After a second, she turned towards me. "I think I heard breathing up ahead." She said, looking back the way we were going.

I nodded, knowing that Sunny had better hearing than I did. "Alright then. I'll follow you for a bit, making sure it's him. If it is though, I wouldn't want to ruin any reunion you two would be having, so I'll hang back." Sunny nodded, beginning to walk forwards again.

We walked a bit further, and i began to hear the breathing as well. However, as we continued moving, I realized it wasn't so much breathing as it was soft snoring, and with how long Sunny I had been flying, along with traveling through the caves, I could only presume it was night again and that the dragon ahead of us was asleep.

As we approached the source, the cave made a turn before revealing a opening, leading into a opening while still in the cave. Inside, laying off to one side of the cave, was a Nightwing, but after a minute of looking at him, I realized something was wrong. His scales from almost over half of his body was stone, and he looked like he was half statue. For a moment, I felt irony, since his name was Stonemover, but I shook that thought from my mind. This was...horrible, to see a dragon half trapped in stone like that, with his breathing being more like a rasping noise at times.

I looked at Sunny with a concerned look for a moment, unsure about this dragon, but I ushered her forwards, staying back and watching from behind. Sunny took a deep breath, before walking towards the dragon. After taking a few steps forwards, however, a gust of wind blew through the cave, putting out the torch. The dragon snorted, and started to wake up, making Sunny freeze in place.

I watched as he opened his eyes, though he didn't notice Sunny at first. He began talking in a soft, raspy voice, asking if someone was there. After a moment of hesitation, Sunny spoke up. With that, the two began to speak, while I watched from the background.

At first, Sunny was really hesitant, but after a few minutes of awkward conversation, such as why Sunny was there, they finally started talking. The conversation felt mildly one sided at first, though that changed when Sunny got his interest after telling him straight up that she was his daughter, with Thorn being her mother.

After that, they began talking, though I couldn't help but notice the way that Stonemover was talking. It was...slow, depressing, even. It was as if the fact that he was turning into stone was also affecting him personally, as if he had given up on all hope and life. To be honest, it was really saddening to listen to, especially the fact that he even began to talk pityingly, which didn't help since he sighed a lot.

They stopped talking for a moment as a fox appeared, carrying a dead mouse. After a moment of looking at Sunny, it walked towards Stonemover, dropping the mouse in his mouth. As the fox left, Sunny asked him about it, in which Stonemover said that he had enchanted the fox to bring him food so he wouldn't starve. This startled me as I realized he was an animus dragon, but since Sunny didn't seemed fazed by that and was more curious about the fact the fox was named dinner, I presumed she already knew.

While I made the connects to Stonemover, the tunnels in the desert, rainforest and the Nightwing kingdom, along with when Thorn was telling Sunny about how she met Stonemover, and i assumed he was probably the creator of the tunnels, Sunny asked him about his stone scales. Stonemover sighed again, saying it was his punishment for his powers and the way he made sure he didn't lose his soul. Every time he used a spell, more of him would turn to stone instead of taking any of his soul.

This made me more curious to the aspects of animus magic, and I began to wonder why he was punishing himself for something he was born with. However, as they talked, and Sunny revealed she was the Sandwing in the dragonet prophecy, she winced as Stonemover assured her that the prophecy was fake.

He then started talking about how Nightwing powers were spread through rumors through scrolls, and if the tribe ever had the powers, they were lost after they moved to the volcano. This made me nod again, since this had been told to me by Starflight. It made me curious as to what the original source of the powers was, and if they could ever be recovered.

With Sunny sighing after failing to make her father believe that she'd be able to stop the war, prophecy or not, she asked if she'd be able to stay the night, due to the storm. Stonemover agreed, saying he'd be glad to have the company. Sunny nodded, saying she'd be right back then, and then walked back over to me.

Once she was over to me, we walked a bit further until we were out of Stonemover's hearing. "So," I said, "He's a cheery fellow, though I guess a few years alone in a cave pitying yourself due to your fear of losing your own soul will do that to you." Seeing Sunny's saddened expression, I knew I wasn't helping. I put my hand on her shoulder. "Go spend the night with him. I'll go rest by where we entered, so we can leave first thing in the morning, alright?"

Sunny nodded after a moment before looking up at me. "Alright Jack. Just don't go anywhere without me, alright? And thank you for taking the time for me to go meet my father." With that, she turned around and went back to her father.

I hoped Sunny would be alright as I began to head to the other entrance. I knew she was probably a bit saddened about the situation with her father, but in the end, I knew she would be fine. She at least had her mother, who appeared to care deeply for her, and they were both alive and knew who Sunny was now, which was sadly more than what the other dragonets had. At least they had each other, in the end.

As I layed down to sleep in the mouth of a cave, I shivered slightly. I hadn't slept by myself in...months, actually. At least one of the dragonets had always been nearby, and as I layed on the ground, I began to realize just how closely I had bonded with the five dragons in my time here. At this point, they were like an actual family to me….which made eventually leaving all the worst.

As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't help but think what it would be like to stay here, in this world. It was just a stray thought, but as soon as I thought about it, I wasn't able to go to sleep, the thought plaguing my mind and making me question what I would do.

I couldn't just abandon my family, especially my sister no less. But then again, I had made so many friends and could even consider the dragonets at this point, that it wouldn't feel right to leave them. There was also the fact that even though this world was more violent than my old one, I had managed to make new friends along the way, even more than I ever had back home, who seemed to care about me even more than most people there.

I eventually fell asleep, though the thoughts plagued me through my sleep. My dreams were of situations of either staying or leaving, and I couldn't help but think that there was no right choice. I was forced to face my dreams all night though, because once again I did not encounter Fathom.

I was woken up the next morning to a soft patter of rain water dripping from the stone outside, the storm gone. I noticed I was warmer than before, and I looked up to see Sunny standing there. "Jack, it's time to go." She said as I stretched and began to get up. "But we can't go back to the rainforest just yet."

I rubbed my eyes and looked over at her confused. "What, why not?" I asked as I continued trying to wake up. "The others are still waiting and worrying about us. We should get back as soon as possible."

Sunny nodded and then looked outside. "I know that, but last night...well, it's hard to explain, so I'll tell you on the way. If we go now though, we can possibly find what I'm looking for." She then walked over to the entrance of the cave.

I rolled my eyes as I followed her, knowing that if it warranted us leaving as soon as possible, it had to be important. We flew out of the cave, with Sunny leading the way away from the direction we were going and back towards the desert a bit. "So Sunny, what is this about?" I asked her as we continued to fly.

"Last night while I was asleep I was visited in my dreams due to a dream visitor. However, it wasn't a dragon that used it, and instead was a scavenger. Not only that, but at one time the dream flickered, showing me some kind of ruins. I remembered seeing some ruins on our way here, and the dream visitor only works on others that you've seen, so it makes sense if they are there. And if there's a scavenger that has a dream visitor, it's possible that they might have something else I'm looking for."

I nodded. "Alright, but let's just hope that whoever it was is still there, and hopefully they'll be willing to give over whatever it is you're looking for. What is it that you're looking for anyway?" I asked her as we began to descend, heading towards small ruins hidden slightly in the trees.

"We're looking for an item known as the eye of onyx." Sunny said as we landed in a series of burned buildings, which I immediately realized were too small for dragons, but were the perfect size for people, making me wonder what happened here. "The eye of onyx is an animus object that was part of the Sandwing treasury and was stolen, and has been used by every Sandwing queen to show that they are in power. I figure if we give it to the sister of our choice, we can end the war that way."

I stopped in the middle of the buildings, beginning to understand that this was a human village that had been attacked by dragons. "Alright, but even then, who would you choose?" I asked Sunny, who had stopped to look at a human statue. "You know as well as I do that the three sisters are all horrible in one way or another, and even if you do choose one, what's to stop the other two from just continuing to fight for the throne?"

Sunny sighed as she poked a bell that was buried in the ash. "I don't know. I'm still thinking this plan fully through. I know we can stop this war though, prophecy or no prophecy, and the eye of onyx is the best way to accomplish that." She then looked around. "But anyway, back to the situation at hand, is it true that scavengers really built all of this?" She asked, looking around.

I nodded as i sifted through some ash. "More than likely. This looks like what an old village would look like back home. If I had to guess, people here are probably a few thousand years behind my people, putting them in a time we called the medieval age, which would make sense since that was when dragon stories majorly originated." As I said that, I looked back at Sunny. "There are a few fresh footprints here, but whoever was here is gone now. I don't know if they'll return, so our only options now are to either stay here or to go back to the rainforest and come back later."

Sunny shook her head. "This might be my only opportunity to find the eye of onyx, and I can't give up now while I'm so close. You can go back if you want, and tell the others what's happening. If no one shows up in three days, I'll make my way back as well." Sunny said as she headed to a larger collection of trees and bushes, effectively hiding herself.

I shook my head. "No, I'm not going to leave you by yourself right now, especially since Burn is probably still looking for us. Besides, how will you get the eye if you don't have a translator?" I asked her, remembering I could still speak to people, though slightly wincing at remembering how I discovered that, back in Scarlet's arena.

Sunny smiled as I took a hiding place nearby, getting a good view of the whole burned down village, wondering why dragons had attacked it. "Thanks Jack. I really appreciate this, for what it's worth. I just hope that I'm right and the scavenger will show up again."

I made myself comfortable in the bushes, wondering how long we'd have to wait. "They'll show up, I'm sure of it. After all, they did go out of their way to visit you in your dreams after all. There's nothing stopping them from coming back here, after all, since they don't know we'll be waiting for them."

And wait for them we did. We stayed there for the whole day, talking to each other to pass the time as we waited for something to happen. We took shifts eventually when we began getting hungry, though it was easier for Sunny to get something to eat since she could survive off of a lizard by herself, meanwhile i had to go and find a nearby lake and shock some fish till i could eat them.

Eventually, as the night was starting to close in and the sun had set an hour or two before, Sunny whispered for me to be quiet as I was telling her about the human school system, which she had taken a mild interest in. We stayed quiet for a moment before she nodded. "Something's coming. Stay silent."

I nodded as we stayed silently in our hiding places. After about two minutes, I could hear something as well, which sounded like two people talking, though I could barely hear it. I eventually picked them out, with there being two of them, a male and a female, with one holding a lantern as they crept through the village ruins. As they got closer, I could pick out the female's voice, even though she appeared to be whispering. "I'm telling you, it was amazing! With this stone, I was just able to walk up to the dragon, and since it was a dream, it couldn't do anything. It was interesting though, since they had some lady on their shoulder in the dream."

As they continued to talk, walking further and further into the village as the female described her visit into Sunny's dream, Sunny herself decided to show herself. She walked out from the bushes and in front of the two, asking them not to run away.

This had the opposite effect, however, as they both began screaming in fear, trying to run away. Sunny tried to stop them, saying she meant no harm, but since people can't normally understand dragons, this just resulted in them throwing the lantern at Sunny. Sunny yelled in mild pain, grabbing one between her claws while knocking the other over with her tail. As the female yelled out for Sunny to let her go, Sunny placed her on top of a stone wall, then turned and grabbed the male, and placed him up there with her as well.

I watched mildly amused as Sunny began asking there where their treasure was, remembering old tales about dragons and their obsessions with treasure. Sunny sighed in annoyance as she turned towards me. "Can you stop laughing and please help me out here? After all, you are the one that can speak to them."

I grinned, stepping forwards out of the bushes, making the two begin screaming in fear once more. I rolled my eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll ask them." I said, which had the effect of making the two stop screaming and instead begin staring at me in shock while I turned to look at them. "Alright you two, do either of you have a special piece of dragon treasure? We kind of need it right now."

The two still looked quite shocked, and while the female looked like she was about to ask how I was talking with them, the male started talking. "We have plenty of dragon treasure! If you let us go, I can get it and bring it all back here! Just please don't kill us." He pleaded.

I rolled my eyes as I reached over and let him down to the ground, but left the woman on the stone wall. "We weren't planning on hurting you to begin with. Just go fetch your treasure and bring it here, and we'll let both you and your friend go. Heck, we'll probably just take what we need and let you keep the rest. Now go on, I promise we won't hurt your friend." He gave me one last fearful gaze before looking back at the woman, and then burst off into the trees.

Sunny gave me a look. "Why'd you let him go? And what were you saying anyway? When you talk to them, it sounds so different and I can't understand you." She said. Meanwhile, the lady on the wall sat down on the edge, making herself comfortable while we waited.

"I told him to go and get the dragon treasure, and that we'd let him and his friend go afterwards." I told her. "I also said I'd let them keep anything that we didn't need, since we don't exactly need to be carrying around gold with us right now, and I feel like they need it more than we do."

While Sunny nodded in slight agreement, the female human decided to speak up. "Um, excuse me, mister dragon? How is it you can talk to us? I've never heard of a dragon that could talk, let alone one that didn't try to kill a person on sight. And, if you don't mind me asking, why do you need our treasure anyway?"

I looked down at her, trying to speak as calmly as possible, still hearing the fear in her voice. "It's a long story on the talking part, one that we don't have the time for. As for the treasure, it's to help us stop a war that's going on. At least, we hope that it will help us stop the war." Seeing how tense she was, I decided to try to get her to calm down. "There's no reason to be afraid. Like I told your friend, neither of us will hurt you. Compared to most dragons, the two of us are actually quite peaceful."

She seemed to calm down a bit, though still looked a bit on edge. "Alright then. I hope you find what you're looking for." After a bit of silence, she spoke up again. "If you don't mind me asking, do you think I could ride on one of you?" I gave her a confused look. "I'm just wondering because I've always been fascinated with dragons, and have always been wondering what it's like to fly."

I thought for a second, then nodded. "Sure, but I think you'd prefer Sunny here to do it. She's warmer and that will be better for the cold winds up high. Just let me check if it's okay with her." I then turned towards Sunny. "Hey Sunny, the lady here wants to know if she can ride on you, so she can see what it's like to fly."

Sunny looked surprised at first, but then nodded. "Sure, I'd be happy to, as long as you can promise she won't try to poke out my eyes or hurt me in any way." After rolling my eyes and double checking, which was unnecessary, Sunny lowered her wing to the wall, letting her climb onto her back. After making sure she was firmly grabbing onto Sunny's neck, Sunny opened her wings and talk off into the sky.

I stayed on the ground, waiting for the man to get back while Sunny and the woman had their fun. Eventually, he arrived, holding a bag over his shoulder, and began screaming about where the woman had gone. I pointed up as Sunny came back down, landing beside me and letting the lady jump off of her, meanwhile wearing the largest grin possible on her face.

While the two of them started arguing with each other as Sunny let the woman down, I went over and took the bag, dumping it onto the ground in front of Sunny and I. We shifted through the pile, which was full of gold, gems, and a few other objects of interest, but after a thorough search of the pile, Sunny and I were both certain of the same thing.

The eye was not there.

 **Author's Note: Sorry to leave my stories on cliffhangers, since I keep getting messages about it, but I feel like that's just the best way to end a chapter, since it's a good place to continue off of. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the slightly longer chapter, and thank you all so much for taking the time to read and support my story. Hopefully the next chapter will be up on time, but im starting school next week, so we'll see what happens.**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

As Sunny began to panic and dig through the pile of treasure once more, I looked over to the two people. "Are you certain that this is everything?" I asked them. "What we need isn't here. Are you certain that there isn't anything else or that someone else might have what we're looking for?"

The male shook his head. "I assure you, this is everything. I...kinda had to steal some of it, but I swear that's everything." As he said that, Sunny finished digging through the pile, getting off the ground with a sigh and a shake of her head, signifying that the eye was indeed not there.

I nodded as I scooped up the other items of interest that Sunny pointed out, such as the woman's dream visitor and a blue dragon statue called the lazulite dragon, meanwhile Sunny put the gold and gems back in the bag for the two. "I thank you for your assistance at least. And be more careful in the future as well. Most dragons won't be as nice as we are."

The two nodded as the guy reached for the bag, meanwhile Sunny and I opened our wings before taking off to the sky. As soon as we were airborne, I looked back to see the two waving at us, and I couldn't help but smiling to myself. I looked over to see how Sunny was doing, and was glad to see she was smiling as well as she looked back at the two while we continued our journey back to the rainforest.

As we flew back, I decided to give Sunny the dream visitor, knowing she'd be able to find a use for it and was probably one of the best choices to give it to. Meanwhile, I held onto the lazulite dragon, in which I was going to ask Singularity for a good place to put it that other dragons wouldn't find. Neither Sunny or I knew what it did, other than the fact that it was possibly animus enchanted, and thus I deemed it safer if I put it out of claws reach of anyone for now.

As we flew, Sunny and I didn't talk much, mainly focusing on getting back to the rainforest and to the others. I knew Sunny wanted to put her plan into action, and I had to agree as well. The sooner a war was ended, the less lives that would be lost due to it. However, that still left the question as to how Sunny planned to end a war that had been going on for several years, but after seeing how well she handled things so far, I knew I had to put a little faith into her.

After a few more hours of flight, with the sun rising high in the sky, the rainforest was within sight again, and I think Sunny and I both put on a burst of speed, both of us eager to get back and see the others once more. I knew we both had our own reasons, such as Sunny wanting to check on Starflight and how I wanted to see who the mysterious visitor for me was, and thus we flew towards where the Rainwing village was, flying as fast as we could.

Eventually, after flying above the trees for a bit, we crashed through the canopy, once more being surrounded by trees in all directions. Due to a few weeks of being here, we were both used to maneuvering through the trees, though we would never be as good as a Rainwing, and thus we continued heading towards the village.

After a bit of moving, Sunny's ears twitched, and she rammed into my side, knocking me down from where i was. After a moment of confusion, Sunny was yelling for the Rainwings not to fire at us, telling them that we were Glory's friends. As she did that, I saw a couple of Rainwings appear in front of us, one of which retrieved a dart that was stuck in the tree where I had been standing just a moment ago.

As the Rainwings asked who we were and Sunny explained, I began to get off the ground and scrape the mud off of my scales. However, I didn't get much of a chance to do that however, as I was suddenly being thrown into the mud again by a familiar Rainwing crashing into me with a hug. When we stopped tumbling through the mud, I looked at Singularity with a grin. "You really have to stop crashing into me as a greeting. I'm not sure I can handle having to clean mud out of my scales every time you want to say hello."

Singularity laughed as she hugged me. "It's good to see you again Static!" She said. As she let go of the hug, she seemed to think for a moment before turning to me with some red appearing on her, though it was still overcome by majorly yellow and some pink. "No, wait, I'm supposed to be mad at you! Where did you go? Why did you disappear again without telling me!?" She shouted at me.

I looked at her with a grin before forcing her into a hug, in which she tried to resist at first before sighing and giving up. "I'm sorry about leaving so suddenly...again, but it was for good reasons, I swear." I said as I let her go, noting that she had a bit more pink on her than before. I then proceeded to tell her how Sunny had been kidnapped by the Nightwings and how I went after them. "I would tell you more, but i'd rather tell the whole story at once with the dragonets, and it's not even fully my story to tell." I said, pointing over to Sunny, who had finished talking to the other Rainwing.

Singularity nodded as Sunny came over to us. "Oh, and Singularity, I was wondering if you knew where I could place this without anyone else finding it?" I asked, holding up the lazulite dragon. Singularity nodded, saying she knew a place I could hide it. I then turned towards Sunny. "Alright, Im going to go hide this for now. Can you go find the others and get them to meet up wherever Glory currently is?" I asked her.

Sunny nodded. "Alright. Just be sure to get there quickly. Im sure the others are going to want us to explain where we've been for the last week." I nodded in agreement as Sunny turned and flew off into the trees. I turned towards Singularity, who I thought had an upset expression and grey on her scales for a moment, but then she turned away, leading me towards her hiding spot.

Following Singularity, I asked her how things were going since i'd left, and how she was doing. She explained how the Nightwings were doing just fine, with many of them having simple huts and were doing fine, though several were still upset and occasionally acted semi hostile to the Rainwings, though nothing over the top. Singularity had been doing just fine, having started with treating dragon's injuries in the medical hut, but then joined a search party a few days after my disappearance. Since then, she's been turning the Rainforest upside down looking for me.

After flying through the trees for a bit, we finally came across a small clearing, which Singularity told me was just West of the village. I nodded as she lead me to a specific tree, moving a leaf out of the way to reveal a hole in the tree. After looking at Singularity for a moment curiously, in which she said she was looking literally _everywhere_ for me, I shrugged and placed the dragon statue there, before settling the leaf back into place.

With that done, Singularity and I began our journey back to the Rainwing village. We talked the whole time on the way there, talking about how we were both doing and such. It was nice, talking to her again, and once again, I felt a pang of guilt in the back of my head at knowing I was eventually going to have to leave, and the fact I hadn't even told her yet.

We eventually made it back to the village, in which I was reminded of the beauty of it with its flowers and colorful birds everywhere. However, I didn't have time to focus on that as Singularity led me to where Glory usually was, which was a tree house of sorts. Once we were there, I realized we had gotten there before Sunny and the others, and currently there was only Glory in there.

As I took a step to go inside, I suddenly had a Nightwing in front of my face. "What business do you have with the Queen?" Deathbringer said, making me and Singularity stop suddenly. Before I could explain, Glory sighed from behind him and went to move him away from the door.

"I told you Deathbringer, anyone can see me at any time if they need to. You don't need to stop every dragon that tries to...Static!" Glory yelled out as she saw me, before pulling me into a hug. When she was done, she let go and looked at me with a stubborn expression. "Where did you and Sunny go off to? Everyone's been worried, and I even sent Rainwings on patrols hunting the two of you. Speaking of which, Singularity, why aren't you with your patrol? And where's Sunny?"

Before I could explain, I was interrupted by the arrival of the other dragonets, who appeared and crashed into me in a giant hug, followed by Fatespeaker leading Starflight, who had bandages around his eyes, and Sunny, who looked happy to be with her friends again. "She's...right there…" I wheezed out as Tsunami and Clay got off of me.

When that was done, we all crowded into Glory's hut, which had a desk on it with several leaves with drawings and writings on them. Once we were all in, Glory began talking, asking where we had been, and telling us that we had worried them all so much. I let Sunny explain what happened, while I filled in the gaps that I experienced myself, such as going after Sunny both in the rainforest and in the desert.

We told our group everything, such as following the Nightwings, to Sunny's plans, to meeting the Outclaws, to Burn's stronghold (in which I got to learn about what Sunny had witnessed there, such as how nicely Smolder had actually treated her). We told them about flying back, the storm, Sunny's father, and the scavengers. When we were done, we were both out of breath from talking, and yet Sunny still had to explain her plan to end the war.

When it came to ending the war, Tsunami and Glory weren't as enthusiastic about the idea, especially Tsunami who felt like she was free since the prophecy didn't exist. However, Clay and Starflight agreed it needed to be done, and with how Sunny explained how stopping the war would stop not only the deaths of many dragons, but also the hunting for the dragonets, the others agreed as well. With that in order, Sunny explained her plan.

Essentially, the plan was to contact the three Sandwings sisters and have them meet together on a select night that Sunny had picked out. From there, they could either end things peacefully or through the tradition of a dual. When all was done, the war would be over, and no more lives would have to be lost.

There were still problems with this plan, such as if the sisters didn't show up or tried to set traps for the others. Then there was problem involving Burn's murderous tendencies, Blister's manipulative mind, and Blaze's clueless one. All three were horrible choices, but in the end, Sunny said things would work out.

Seeing a way to end this war, and to keep the dragonets safe, I agreed first to the plan, saying we could at least give it a shot. Slowly, the others began to agree as well, until all of the dragonets agreed to the plan. With that settled, we now had a plan, and thus, we'd start as soon as we were ready.

The first part was to contact the Talons of Peace, that way we could get a message to Blister through them. As we talked, we determined it would be best to send, me, Sunny, and Tsunami, and Singularity to make sure everything went well (we were eventually just going to send the three of us, but since Singularity threatened to sneak along anyway, I decided to include her to make things less difficult). We were also going to bring any of the false dragonets that wanted to come, in case they wanted to return to their families.

While we stood around Glory's table, discussing how we were going to do this, I heard a dragon land behind us. Glory told us to continue planning while she went over to see who it was, in which we discussed a possible place the Talons might be at. I heard Glory let whoever it was into the building, in which I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around, the sight I beheld was not one I was expecting, and I felt my heart stop for a second as she spoke, revealing a voice I recognized immediately.

"Hello Static, or should I say Jack?" She asked. Before me was a dragon that looked similar to me, but was smaller and more feminine in body shape. She then ran up and hugged my still surprised and shocked still form, grasping on tight. "I knew I'd find you again Jack." She whispered, hugging tighter, and I could only guess that tears were filling her eyes.

"Sa...Sara?" I asked, still shocked. She loosened her grip on me and looked at me with a tear stained smile, nodding before hugging me again. I was knocked out of my shock, grabbing onto her and hugging her deeply. "How are you here? Why are you here? You...you shouldn't be here." I said, tears of my own filling my eyes.

I was finally with my sister again, and I was glad to finally be able to see and hug her again...but it wasn't supposed to be like this. Sara wasn't supposed to be here, in this world, a world that was at war, and dragons were forced to fight each other almost daily for survival. I could only think about what Sara had seen, what she had done. Had she been forced to fight? Knowing her, my guess was yes. But the even greater question, did she... _kill someone?_

As we embraced each other, the others began making their way out quietly, letting us have some time to talk. I heard Singularity ask what Sara meant when she called me Jack, but Sunny hushed her, saying I'd explain it later. I was thankful they left, knowing that there was going to be so much to talk about with Sara. But for that moment, we just stood there, hugging each other and not letting go, both of us happy to see each other once again.

After a bit of time, we let go, parting from each others embrace, and we just stood there for a moment looking at each other before I spoke. "How did you get here?" I asked her quietly, still shocked that she was even here at all.

"I came here looking for you." She said. "When you went missing, I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. So I went looking for you, following the last steps I knew you took. That led me to the forest, where I fell into a hole.."

"..and you touched a strange stone, which brought you here?" I asked. She looked mildly surprised before nodding. "Alright. Next question: how long ago did you get here, what have you been doing since, and how did you find me?" I asked her.

At that, she took a minute to think. "I believe I've been here for about a month or two. I've been searching for you, for the most part. Then I met Blister, who had me work for a bit." My eyes widened at that, but I stayed silent, letting her finish. "Then I was trained by one of her most skilled assassins, in which we were sent to find the dragonets, but I was told by a strange Sandwing to abandon my teacher, saying the stars would lead me to where you were, which was here, in this village. I got here right as you chased after Sunny, and I wanted to follow, but your friends, the dragonets, made me stay."

I was silent for a moment after that, lost in thought. Working for Blister? Trained by an assassin? Sara had always believed in violence as an answer, but all of this? Finally, the question that had been plaguing my mind needed to be asked, so I did so. "Sara, did you ever in your time here kill anyone?" I asked.

She looked surprised for a second before looking annoyed. "No, I haven't. Jack, you know me, I may like fighting, but I'm no killer." We sat there in silence for a second before she looked down in shame. "I...have had the occasional thought to though. Ever since arriving here, I've been questioning more and more about whether fighting and killing is right or wrong more and more often."

I nodded. "I know what you mean. But it's good to know your conscious has kept you in check." I said. "But still, you shouldn't be here Sara. It's dangerous, and I don't need you getting hurt. But then again, I can't exactly send you back home, since I'm still looking for a way back myself."

"Then we'll find a way back together. And you shouldn't have to worry about me like that. You know I can defend myself in any situation, so just trust me, alright?" She proceeded to sit on the ground, and I followed her example, not wanting to stand the whole time as well. "What about you? What have you been up to this whole time? Heck, how did you even get here in the first place?" She asked.

I sighed, before telling her almost everything. I told her about how I originally got here, to my perils in the Skywing kingdom, to working with the dragonets, from the Seawing kingdom to the Rainwing kingdom, to the Sandwing kingdom and the outskirts of the Icewing kingdom. I told her of what I had seen, who I had met, what I had felt, both physically when I was dying of Sandwing poison, to emotionally, when I realized how much i've changed from my old pacifistic self.

I did leave out some parts though, such as some of my observations about dragons and how some acted towards me, such as how Peril freed Scarlet since she was the only "mother" she had left, and how Sunny had had feelings for me and how I had to friendzone her. I especially didn't tell her about my thoughts about not going back to our old home, knowing it would only make her concern grow.

When I was all done, Sara looked impressed. "Wow, it definitely sounds like you've had one heck of an adventure so far." She said. "At first, I was worried about how you were doing after seeing how violent it was here, but im glad to hear that you're doing so well. You even made some friends, even though you're eventually going to have to say goodbye." At my pained expression, she looked sad. "You haven't told them about your plan to leave, have you?"

I shook my head. "I told them basically everything, including how I want to find a way home after this is all over, but I haven't told them that I probably wouldn't be able to come back." I said. "I just don't want to let any of them down, especially after everything we've all been through together. I just...I can't handle that kind of sadness from them, and I wouldn't want to distract them with it, especially not now when they're going to be ending the war soon."

Sara nodded, but gave me a sad look as she nudged my side. "I know. You always were terrible at goodbyes. But you will have to tell them soon Jack." As she said that, I got up as well, and began heading to the exit. We had been there for a while, and I didn't want to stall for any longer.

I stopped at the exit, looking around and spotting the dragonets not too far off. I sighed as I looked back at Sara. "I'm sure I'll figure out something...just give me some time, and let them do what needs to be done." With that, Sara agreed, and we flew off to go to the dragonets and to begin Sunny's plan.

 _Several hours later, on the outskirts of the Mudwing and Seawing Kingdoms…_

"I still don't understand why Singularity changed her mind about coming with us." I yelled to Sunny and Tsunami. "I thought she would've loved to see more of the continent, especially on an important trip like this." Sunny had told me before we had left that Singularity had changed her mind about coming with us, and currently the only ones in our group that didn't seem to care were Tsunami, who just wanted to get this over with, and Sara, who was glad that she was able to come along instead. We also had with us the false dragonet Mudwing, Ochre, though all he seemed to care about was the fruit he had brought along with him.

"I don't understand what changed her mind either." Sunny said as we approached our destination, which was a location the Talons of Peace supposedly met up at. "She had disappeared for a bit after we left you and Spark to talk." I still found Sara's dragon name to be amusing, teasing her a bit on the way here about how it sounded like a dog's name. "Near to when you and her came back, she flew up to us, looking quite upset about something, saying that she had changed her mind. Before I could ask her why she had decided not to go, she flew off."

As Ochre flew off to find the Talons, I couldn't help but wonder about Singularity. Knowing her, she had probably been curious about what Sara and I were talking about, and probably listened in from outside. I sighed as Ochre came back, followed by a Seawing, worried that Singularity had heard more than she was supposed to. If I was right, and she had been listening in, then any number of things I said could have upset her, but due to what Sunny had said, I could only guess she had heard about my plans to leave.

I made it a mental note to check in on her after everything was said and done, and began to follow the others as we flew down to where the two had landed. When we did land, we were quickly surrounded, and I made myself ready to fight while Sara growled, getting into position as well. Sunny looked slightly uncertain and Tsunami looked ready to attack the first dragon that gave her a wrong look as we walked forwards.

Tsunami's look softened and went into one of happiness and confusion as she rushed forwards, happily talking to another Seawing that, after a moment of looking at him, I remembered as Riptide. I let them talk as I kept my eyes on the other Talons, ready to unleash lightning if they tried anything.

Sunny began talking to the leader of the Talons, who Riptide introduced as Nautilus. He didn't seem that glad to see us, and had already yelled at Tsunami not to get any closer. He especially didn't seem the look of Sara and I, and I could only guess he might not have been that happy with me in general since the Talons had made it their job to make the war end with the dragonets, and instead I had gone and done it for them.

As Sunny explained she had a plan to end the war, and needed a message sent to Blister, he instantly looked a little less hostile, at least until she mentioned Blister. At that he appeared to look a bit nervous, and asked Sunny why they should send a message for her. Once more reminding him that we were talking about the end of the war, he agreed, saying that they'd send messengers to Blister.

With that out of the way, and one of the three Sandwing sisters dealt with, we went to leave. We were stopped for a second by a Skywing appearing and asking where her son was, and before we could tell her that Flame had decided to stay back, the scarred Skywing himself showed up, flying from the sky and into his mother's arms. With them embracing each other, we took that as our cue to leave, heading back to the rainforest.

 _Later that night, back in the Rainforest…_

With us having returned to the rainforest, I separated with Sunny and went to hunt for Singularity, knowing we needed to talk. Sunny wished me luck, taking Sara with her since she knew I'd want to speak in private.

I flew around the whole village, asking the few Rainwings still awake if they had seen her. After several failed attempts, I eventually found one of the other nurse dragons. She told me about a spot outside of the village that Singularity had mentioned she liked to go to, and I thanked her, off to find this spot.

Following the Rainwing's directions, I went towards where Singularity supposedly went to at night, a place where she had the best view of the night sky, and thus, the stars. After a bit of searching, I realized that if it was a spot that could see the stars, it would have to be a clearing. Thus, opening my wings, I flew through the forest canopy, up into the sky.

Remembering the direction I had pointed towards, I flew along, looking for any open areas. Eventually, I found it, spotting a small clearing where the trees parted out into the forest, giving full viewage of the sky. In case Singularity was there, and was in fact upset with me, I didn't want her to know I was there, and thus I flew down, back through the trees.

After some walking, I came back across the clearing, and sure enough, sitting on top of a moss covered rock in the center of the clearing was Singularity, looking up at the sky. Her scales were completely grey as she looked at the sky, her face filled with sorrow as she let her wings droop sadly to the ground.

I felt miserable just looking at her, and knowing that she was probably feeling worse, I decided to go comfort her. I slowly walked out from the bushes, being as silent as possible. I approached her slowly, then stopped a bit behind her, before looking up at the sky as well. Not fully sure what to do, I decided to speak up and hope for the best. "I see why you like the stars so much." I said. "In a place like this, with just your thoughts to keep you company, it's understandable to see how you could get lost in them."

Looking back over, I could see that I had surprised her, but she then just sighed and looked back at the sky. "Is everything that you and your sister said true? That you're really scavengers? That you don't belong here? That you're looking for a way back, and when you find one, you're going to... _leave_?" At that last word, she sounded heartbroken, making me feel worse.

I sighed as I walked up to her. "Yes. We were brought here by the request of a dragon that just wants her suffering to end. I don't know how long that will take, but once it's done, I'll be sent home. The problem then though, is the fact I don't know if I'd be able to come back." By this point, I was next to her, and after seeing other dragons do it, I decided to try something, and thus I wrapped my tail with hers.

She flinched, but didn't stop it. "But shouldn't you tell dragons that when you first meet them? If they know you won't be here forever, then they can't grow attached...like I did." She dropped her gaze from the sky, looking down at the ground, tears filling her eyes. "You've been one of the nicest dragons I've ever met Static...I mean Jack. I've never heard of a dragon so loyal to his friends that he'll face death to keep them safe, or one that would jump at the chance to put himself in front of another's life, and still cares deeply for his friends and family. And with all of those that love and care for you just as much here, why do you still want to leave?"

I thought for a second about what I would do next, and sighed in my head, knowing what I had to do. First, I looked around, making sure no one was secretly watching, especially Sara. Once I was certain, I wrapped my wing around Singularity, pulling her close. I then whispered to her to make sure that if there was someone, that they wouldn't be able to hear me. "I'm going to tell you something I haven't told Sara. Don't tell her, no matter what, alright?"

After tensing up when I hugged her and started talking, she nodded, letting me continue. "I don't plan to go back." I said, the certainty in my voice still shocking me a bit. "I may have family back home, but I had no real friends, not like here. I won't sentance my sister here though, so when all is said and done, and I make sure she gets home safely, I promise you I'll still be here."

At that, Singularity seemed to cry a bit as well, gripping on tight to me in our hug. We stayed like that for a while, embracing each other in the clearing, with my mind set on staying in this strange world I had been forced into months ago.

In the next few days after, Singularity acted like her normal self once more, and Sunny continued her plan. After going to the Mudwing kingdom and getting a message sent to Burn (and stopping an attack on the Icewings), and having a message through the dream visitor to Blaze, to make sure she showed up after Jambu and Mangrove's message to her failed, Sunny's plan was ready to go through.

Thus, when two moons were full and a comet raced across the sky, and with us standing in the desert outside of the Sandwing palace at night, we were ready to end the war. However, that night would prove to be one of the most dangerous for the dragonets.

It would also be the night I failed to protect all of them.

 **Author's Note: Hey look, another chapter even though I have school and such. Woot! Anyway, thanks for the comments and support on the story so far. If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check out the awesome cover art for my story, provided to me by RandomPersonYouDon'tKnow, who I thank so much for drawing it. Anyway, the next chapter will be up next week, and thank you all for reading my story so far (also, Im still not sure if I will ship Singularity and Static, but hey, Im liking it so far, and if you all like it as well, I'll go for it eventually. Just be sure to tell me, alright?).**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

As we stood there in the desert the night in which the war would end, I was surprised by just how many dragons had shown up already. There were dragons present from all seven tribes, though the Rainwings that Glory brought with her were in disguise, hiding amongst the other tribes. Singularity wasn't that far from us, currently disguising herself as a Skywing and helping to keep an eye on things.

As for our group, the dragonets themselves were standing together, though Glory herself was disguised herself, making herself look like a Skywing out of irony. We were certainly getting a lot of attention though, with several of the dragons around us looking and staring at our group, seeing the prophecy dragonets end the war at long last.

I wasn't getting as much attention as they were, thankfully, as I watched around for anything and everything out of the ordinary, making sure that no one would try to harm my friends. Sara was doing the same thing, though she was on the other side of the large circle that had formed, that way all angles could be covered.

Sunny had definitely thought well when planning the date for this to occur. At the moment, the night sky had two full moons, with a comet filling the night sky in the appearance of a third full moon as well. It was a beautiful sight, and I knew that Singularity would be more than likely distracted by it several times during that night, since I couldn't help but look up at it as well.

Honestly, I was a little bit nervous. Sure, I wasn't the one ending a war between every dragon tribe, but I was still responsible for guarding the ones doing so. However, as the night went on, the nervousness passed as I realized that no one there had any intention of harming the dragonets, almost everyone there wanting to see the war end once and for all.

The dragonets had been speaking to each other this whole time, showing off their amazement of the sight before them, of the dragons filling the bright night sky, with it being difficult to tell who was from what tribe in the silver moonlight. Finally, Sunny grouped all of us together, telling us that no matter what happened, she was glad she was friends with all of us. We all agreed, though Glory jokingly said that probably meant we were probably all about to die. I told them they weren't allowed to die while I was here, and they thanked me for helping them along the way as we embraced in a large group hug.

I couldn't help but remember the decision I had made a week ago as we embraced each other, feeling as if I was actually a part of something for once, and knew that my friends would be with me every step of the way. At that moment, I was thankful I had been brought here, and I knew now that the reason I kept them safe was to pay them back for being such great friends (even if that sounded very cheesy).

As we let go, there was a low rumbling in the ground, and after being surprised for a moment, we paid it no matter as we let go of each other. It had been common lately for the ground to shake, and according to Starflight it was probably due to how close the comet was. I was semi worried about that, especially with Fatespeaker screaming that we were going to be crushed by it, but since there was no sign of the comet hitting us, I decided to pay it no mind.

However, once the ground stopped shaking, everyone went silent, and I could see why. The first of the Sandwing sisters had arrived, walking up from the castle grounds that she used as a fortress. As she did so, she addressed the dragonets, asking them why she shouldn't kill them for disturbing her battle plans.

As Sunny explained that the war was over, Burn scoffed, and said that she saw problems with that, both of which were flying this way. As we looked, we could see to the east what appeared to be Blister's forces, meanwhile from the north was a large gathering of Icewings coming this way. As Burn said she might not kill the dragonets for bringing her sisters here (though was only considering it since the dragonets were annoying her), and Sunny explained that this is about peace, not killing, the second sister arrived, with Blister landing next to a statue of the former Sandwing queen.

Blaze landed with a large Icewing that I could only guess was her ally, the Icewing queen, Blister walked up and began circling Blaze, saying she was disappointed that the other two weren't already dead. I glared at her as an argument began, with the three sisters each saying that the dragonets had chosen them to be queen. Sunny firmly told them that none of them had been chosen, and that this was a peaceful end to the war, saying they could either decide who was to be queen, or everyone else would.

Burn laughed, saying she was going to stuff all of us and tell us about peaceful solutions, Blister injected, saying she was already trying to make a gesture of peace, saying that she had sent a present to Burn. As Blister explained she wanted to reunite the family and end the war, Burn snarled and told Smolder, who I had noticed moving along the palace wall, to bring her a box.

Smolder returned a second ago, I couldn't help but wonder what was in the box, and what kind of devious trap Blister had come up with this time. As Burn grabbed the box, Sunny warned her it was probably a trick. Burn scoffed, knowing it was, saying she easily recognized the sound of a dragonbite viper.

While Blister explained how it wasn't a trick, and knew that Burn had always wanted one for her collection, Starflight explained the frightening details of the dragonbite viper. It was a snake that had a venom so powerful that it could kill a full grown dragon with one bite. I paled at this, knowing that a snake that dangerous could be harmful to everyone here.

Burn suddenly ripped her hand into the box, pulling her arm out quickly with a snake writhing in her grasp. She explained to Blister she knew her mind, and was going to enjoy using the snake on her instead. Blister then mentioned that she got her two snakes, aksing if she forgot to mention that detail.

As she said that, chaos began as the second viper lunged out of the box, sinking it's fangs into Burn. Dragons flew in all directions, everyone trying to get away as the first snake was dropped, no one wanting to take the chance to get bitten. However, as black veins crawled their way up Burn's leg, she stamped down her foot, killing the second snake. We all stood there and watched as Blister stood there, watching with sick glee as her sister began to perish from the poison of the venom.

My hatred for Blister had to wait though as Burn continued to die, more black spreading through her scales. I could only watch in horror as she died, but I shook out of it quickly as the dragonets began to get off of the ground, to get away from the viper. I noticed as the first viper noticed our group, and began making it's way towards us, and quickly.

I noticed Starflight's blind confusion, and I went over to help him get into the air, along with Sunny who was on his other side. However, even with our help, the viper was fast approaching us, so I turned around, putting myself in the way of Starflight and Sunny, knowing they was more important than me, and if the viper got to us first, I would be in it's way.

However, that thought was knocked out of the way as something slammed into us, flinging us out of the way. As we were flung, I corrected myself, seeing what had knocked us away, and my eyes widened in surprise and horror, as standing where we were a moment ago, with the viper just behind him and heading straight for his leg, was Clay.

I tried to fix my flight path, I tried to propel myself forward, to get there before the viper did, to put myself in the way of danger once more, knowing that we were so close, and that the dragonets, no, _my friends_ , _my family_ , had to live. I flew forward, getting there as quickly as possible.

But I was too late.

I watched as the viper bit into Clay's back leg, sinking its fangs into his flesh, and thus depositing its deadly venom into him. As Clay screamed in pain, I reached him, grabbing the snake out from his leg and pulling it out. The snake hissed at me, but I lost myself, and just like with the eels months ago, I lost my temper out of the need to protect my friends, and I tore the snake in half, killing it.

I quickly turned to Clay, who was reeling on the ground in pain. I went to him, unsure what to do as the others came to us as well. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, with the screams of panicked dragons no longer in my ears, only the complaints of Clay as he told us how much it hurt.

Not knowing what to do, remembering what I had heard Starflight say, saying that once bitten, there was nothing you could do for a dragon, I did the same thing I had done when I had first arrived here. I looked towards the sky, and I screamed, I screamed and let out a torrent of lightning deep into the night sky, with the anger towards Blister in bringing this snake, to the possibility of losing one of my friends, to the fact that I didn't know what to do.

As I finished releasing my lightning, I opened my eyes, and I saw something coming towards us. I saw a burning ball of orange blazing scales headed in our direction, and instantly recognized Peril as she headed for our group. We got out of the way as Peril landed, quickly getting to Clay's side. As she did so, she shouted at Clay, saying he couldn't die, in which she looked at where he had been bitten, and sank her talons into the holes.

Clay shouted in pain and tried to fly away, but I quickly jumped onto him as Peril explained she was burning the poison out. I thought about it, and realized it was our only hope for Clay, and shouted for help as Clay began to throw me off of him. We were all there with him, as we held Clay down and let Peril save his life. As we did so, he began thrashing more, the blind pain making him want to find any way to make it stop, but more dragons joined us, helping to hold him down from every side to ensure he lived.

When it was all done, Clay had a massive burn on his leg, and had fallen unconscious. He would live, in which we were all relieved, but it was suspected he would have a limp. As the dragonets thanked Peril, I could see the others who had arrived, including Sunny's mother, Riptide, Fatespeaker, Singularity and Sara. I thanked Singularity and Sara, in which they said that it was no problem, and that they weren't about to let my friend die.

As everyone did a quick hugging session, and Clay mumbled from a slip of consciousness that Peril might be the " _wings of fire_ " from the prophecy, Blister approached us. I glared at her, with Sara and Singularity joining my side as we glared at her. She glared back at us as we kept her away from the dragonets, her glare shared between me and Sara for the most part.

As she realized she wasn't going to get past us, she said that she would deal with us later, in which she turned around and placed her glare on her only remaining sister, the only thing keeping her from the Sandwing throne, which was Blaze, who was currently trying to hide beside the large Icewing queen.

At that, I went to stop her, but I stopped as I felt a clawed hand on my shoulder. I looked over to see Sunny standing next to me, shaking her head, before looking towards Blister. She tried to tell her that she didn't have to kill Blaze, but Blister said even if she didn't have to kill her, she certainly wanted to.

Blaze looked up at the Icewing queen, wondering if she could fight for her, in which the queen looked conflicted, and I knew why. It was against tradition for another to fight for the throne for someone else, and thus she couldn't fight Blister for Blaze, but if she stood back, she was sure to lose as Blaze would be certainly killed. It was a difficult decision, but she ended up shaking her head, saying that this was Blaze's fight.

Sunny tried to say they could still try for peace, Blister snarled, saying it was too late for that as she darted forward and bit Blaze on the wing, before darting back. We could only stand there and watch as Blaze was attacked by Blister, Starflight explaining that this was official business now, and we weren't allowed to interfere.

As the dragonets talked about what would happen, with Blaze most likely dieing and Blister taking the throne and probably having some heinous plan for afterwards, I could only glare and sink my talons into the sand. I couldn't allow Blister to win, not with her hatred to the dragonets. She would surely kill them afterwards, and with the Sandwing army behind her, it wouldn't be that difficult.

I looked over at Sara, and could tell she wanted to end this here and now, to pounce on Blister for tricking her like she did. However, we both knew there would be consequences if we did anything, so we turned away, walking over to Sunny and her mother Thorn, who were approaching Smolder, who had a human female on his shoulder. Sunny had told me about Flower, who was one of the original humans that started the war by killing Queen Oasis.

A thought crossed my mind as we approached, meanwhile Smolder was wondering if there would be anywhere he'd be able to hide from Blister, since she was probably not going to let him live since he sided with Burn. As Smolder and Thorn talked about his chances of survival, Sunny broke in, asking if there were any other relatives, anyone else who would be able to be queen.

Smolder shook his head, saying his mother was very strict and careful, and that none of her decedents had any children either. As the rest of the dragonets approached, none of them wanting to watch as Blister toyed with Blaze, Fatespeaker broke in, asking why someone else couldn't be queen, such as how Glory was queen of the Nightwings. Starflight shook his head, saying that if any dragon could take the throne, it would be anarchy, and that it isn't as simple as just passing the mark of queen to any random dragon.

As Sunny looked saddened, with the realization that there wasn't anything any of us could possibly do, Flower slid off of Smolder's shoulder, walking over to Sunny and patting her talons in a comforting way. As Tsunami looked at Flower in curiosity, asking about way Flower didn't have any sense of survival instinct, Flower tugged on Sunny's ankle. "I need to show you something!" Flower said, though the only ones that understood her were me and Sara.

As Sunny looked in confusion, she turned towards me. "She says she wants you to follow her." I said. As Smolder looked at me in confusion, Sunny obliged, following Flower to a pile of sand. Once there, Flower started to dig in the sand, making a small hole, before looking up and asking Sunny to dig here. I translated once more, in which Sunny nodded, and walked up to Flower and began to dig beside her.

It didn't take too long to get everyone to start digging with Sunny, though the dragonets were confused why they were listening to a scavenger to dig a hole in the middle of the desert. As we kept digging, we were surprised by what we found, which was the gleam of white dragon bones in the sand. I only took a second to realize we were digging up the old queen, which was disrespectful, before we continued digging.

More and more of the skeleton was uncovered, but once the skull was fully dug out, Flower told us to stop as she slid down, and pointed at the skull, saying that there was something important in the queen's mouth. I translated once more, though I didn't need to as Sunny was already reaching for the skull, putting her arm through the dragon's open mouth.

When Sunny pulled her arm back, we saw she was holding several sacks. Sunny lifted the sacks out of the sand, before carefully pouring them out onto the sand. Gems and gold spilled onto the ground. However, after opening the final sack, a single piece of treasure fell out, and I could only guess what it was by its appearance.

The Eye of Onyx.

As Sunny carefully lifted it up and off of the ground, I could make out more of it in detail. It was a necklace with gold links, with the actual eye looking like a black sphere which looked like a dragon's eye, with golden wings on either side of it that had the appearance of being on fire when in the light.

The dragonets surrounded Sunny, realizing that now that they had the Eye of Onyx, they could actually choose anyone to be the new queen. As Tsunami and Glory suggested it to be Sunny, I couldn't help but wonder what Sunny would do next. It was true, she could choose anyone to be queen, even herself, but it made me wonder what her decision would be. I decided to put my hand on Sunny's shoulder, and as she looked up at me, I smiled. "Just remember, whatever your decision is, we're your friends, and we'll support your decision."

As Sunny smiled back, she began to look around. I realized that everyone was staring at us, with Blister and Blaze having even stopped their fight, though Blaze was looking very bloody and not so good. That's when Sunny made her decision, as she gave the eye to her mother, Thorn.

I nodded in understanding as a tiny jolt of purple lightning passed from Sunny to Thorn through the black stone. Thorn was probably the best candidate, as she was already a natural leader, was also a Sandwing, and would actually be able to lead the Sandwings without being self centered or wanting to take over or kill anyone.

Sunny announced that Thorn was the new Sandwing queen, through her choice and the choice of the dragonets. As Thorn looked awestruck and murmurs began filling the night sky, Blister hissed at us, saying that she was not going to allow this, saying that she was the smartest dragon in Pyrrhia and that she _deserved_ the throne.

As she approached us, Sara and I stood in her way once more, in which she actually growled at us. She tried to use the prophecy against Sunny, bringing up the quote of how of the three sisters, two would die. Sunny finished it for her though, reminding her that one will learn, and that if she bowed to a fate that is stronger and higher, she'd have the power of wings of fire, which said that Blister had to accept her new queen.

Blister had pure hatred in her eyes now, raising her tail barb at us threateningly, but Sara and I didn't budge as we glared back at her. As Blister asked if we actually thought that was going to happen, Thorn stepped up, asking if Blister wanted to fight for it. As Blister stared at her, with a calculating look in her eyes as she said that she had no right to the throne, she lunged out at Thorn, ripping the eye from her talons.

I stepped forward to stop her, to get the eye back, but I didn't have to. The eye began immitting orange sparks, shooting lightning out and into Blister. Blister fell to the ground, still clutching the sphere as lightning continued to crackle, and as she began thrashing wildly around on the ground, she exploded in a cloud of black dust, leaving only the eye left on the ground.

Everyone there was silent, all of us unsure what to do now, especially at what we just saw happen. As Blaze asked about how she was the one that actually survived, Thorn walked up and grabbed the eye once more. Putting the necklace over her neck, Thorn wore the Eye of Onyx, signifying that she was the new queen of the Sandwings. As she did so, Sandwings began walking up to her, with Blaze arriving first to bow to the new queen.

I looked over to see the dragonets all standing together, even Clay who was sitting up and rubbing his head as he looked around in confusion. _"I did it."_ I thought to myself. _"I kept my friends safe. The war is over and now they'll have no one else trying to kill them...hopefully, that is. The only question left is…"_ I thought as I looked to Sara, who was grinning at me and looking around.

" _What do I do now?"_

 _One month later, at the peak of Jade Mountain…_

I stood on top of the mountain inside of a small cave with the dragonets. It had been a long month for all of us, with ending a war in such a way not being as easy as we had thought. After Thorn had become queen, the next and hardest part of ending a war came into play: politics. With the dragonets, we traveled and met with every tribe's queen, to establish a peace treaty and to discuss what would happen next, since all three of the sisters had promised something to the tribes that were their allies.

With that done, we went and began helping Thorn establish how to run a kingdom, with Glory getting lessons from the other queens as well. Overall, the last month had gone by just fine, with no one trying to harm the dragonets since. If anything, the last month had been semi boring, with not much to do, though it was nice since Sara and Singularity had been with me, both of which were glad to see more of the world.

I sighed as I kicked a rock off of the cliff face. There was still one dragon out there that wanted to harm the dragonets, and that was Scarlet, who had left Peril the night after she had been freed, since Peril refused to help her harm anyone anymore. I knew she would be back, and even with the new Skywing queen, queen Ruby, having sent out search parties, I knew the dragonets might still be in trouble due to her.

However, after talking about it with the dragonets for a long time, they said that it was time that I go and start my adventure. They would help me get started of course, and would help me whenever I needed it, but for now I was to stop playing bodyguard. I agreed, but told them I would still stick around for a month, to see what their plans were and to make certain that everything was all right, and they were all too happy to spend some more time with me.

Now that it had been a month, I wasn't sure what to do next. I had only been able to contact Fathom once in my dreams, and that was for him to explain to me two things. One, that the reason he didn't talk to me before was because there would be too many uncertain futures if I talked to him and he revealed anything on accident. Secondly, that I wouldn't be able to talk to him for a while, since something had happened, that grave danger was coming, and that if he talked to me, _he_ would find out. Before I could ask who _he_ was, the dream ended, and I haven't heard from him since.

So with no leads as to what to do next, I could only focus on what Storm had told me the time we talked. I needed to find one dragon of every tribe to reach her. I already had a Rainwing, with Singularity liking to spend time with me often. I figured I could ask if Sahara wanted to go as my Sandwing, and then I could try to visit Tempest for a Seawing. That still left me with having to find a Nightwing, an Icewing, a Mudwing, and a Skywing.

While I pondered where I was going to find each of these companions, and wonder why I would even need a representative of every tribe to reach Storm, I was broken out of my thoughts as Sunny spoke up, asking her friends about their opinions on making a school out of Jade mountain. As they broke in, I smiled as I walked up to them, knowing they would need some help.

It turned out that Sunny had taken what I had told her about the education system back in my world to heart, and wanted to start a school in Pyrrhia open to all of the tribes, in a way that would allow peace for all of the tribes. It was a nice thought, and I had helped her out with the outline of how the system would work, though there were some things that she added personally, to ensure that the students would still be interested and would want to learn.

Honestly, even though I kind of didn't like school back home, I liked the idea of one here, and even volunteered to help whenever they needed it. Sunny had agreed, in which I was to join them whenever they did start the school, and if they needed help with anything. Heck, it would even give me a chance to learn more about this world myself, which I was semi excited about.

At that point of time, I still hadn't told anyone besides Singularity about my plan to stay, not even the dragonets. I knew they would try to get me to leave, even if they'd be sad to say goodbye, and I figured it best to get Sara home first before telling them.

Speaking of Sara, she was ready to get started on our adventure as well. She was currently back in the rainforest, making sure we had plenty of supplies before we left, and was excited at going on an adventure with me. I wondered what dangers we would face though, and how I would be able to get her home safe when I was still required to kill a dragon before I could get her there, even though we both knew how wrong it was to kill.

The dragonets departed from each other, with Sunny taking Starflight away to talk about something, meanwhile I stared off over the continent. From the top of the mountain, almost everything could be seen, from the rainforest to the desert, to the mountains and the marshes. It was a grand sight, and looking over it, I was filled with a new burst of energy.

Going over to the dragonets, who were talking about a Nightwing that had been raised secretly in the rainforest, I quickly hugged them, saying it was time for me to go. They looked slightly saddened at this, but we quickly embraced in one last hug. "Thank you all for your help with...well, everything. I'll be sure to visit when I can, and, if the time does come, to say goodbye."

We embraced each other, none of us wanting to let go, until I eventually parted, looking and smiling at my friends. I then turned around and jumped off of the mountain, feeling the wind in my face as I turned towards the rainforest, promising myself that I'd see them again. But for now, I had a mission, and that was to end Storm's suffering. I could only wonder while I flew if I would actually be able to do it?

With the future uncertain, I flew forwards, not looking back, certain I'd see my friends again.

 _Meanwhile, above, hidden in the clouds…_

I watched, amused, as the young human turned dragon flew through the sky. Try as he might, I wasn't going to let him stop me. He was just one pawn, but of course, one pawn is all that is need to win a game of chess, so I couldn't let my guard down yet. I wouldn't let my other half win, not when I was so close to finally having complete control.

And then, once I did, I'd have all the fun to myself, and the real fun could actually begin. "Oh, you just watch, young little imposter." I whispered out, watching him do a flip in the air. "I'll deal with you soon, and when I'm done, you're going to be the one wishing that I ended your life, not the other way around. Of course, that'll have to wait. I have other business to attend to."

With that done, and with the young one starting his journey, I opened a gate, stepping through to start putting my own plans into motion.

 **Author's Note: END OF ARC ONE, WOOT! And with that done, we begin my personal arc, which is still scheduled to begin at its normal time of next Wednesday, though this chapter I plan to be a few pages extra long, since I'm going to start it with a bang and add a prologue! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and the story as a whole so far. With 26 chapters, we have completed 5 whole books! With this done, I'd like to hear in the comments your opinions on the story good or bad, that way I can improve the story for the next arc. And also, wow, you guys really seem to like Static x Singularity, don't ya? Well don't worry, I have a plan now, and you'll probably like the way I actually get them together. It isn't technically cannon yet, but I still plan to do it unless something changes my mind (that does not include Sunny ships though. I already explained I won't mess with cannon characters, since I don't want to mess with the actual author's work.) Anyway, thank you all so, so much for reading and sticking with me this far, and the next chapter/arc will be up next week.**


	27. Chapter 27

_Arc 1.5, Part 1 ~ The Search for Allies_

 _Chapter 1 ~ Searching in the Rainforest_

I had arrived in the rainforest a few hours after noon, and had quickly reached the Rainwing village soon after. Once there, I made my way to Glory's pavilion, where I knew she would soon be waking from the Rainwing's suntime. It was relatively easy to find, since it was the highest one in the trees and was the only one that had a Nightwing bodyguard.

I landed on the edge of the pavilion with Deathbringer going on alert for a second, before realizing it was me. "Hello Static. If you're here to talk to the Queen, she should be waking soon from her daily suntime." He said.

Glory snorted next to him before opening an eye to me. "You know I'm never fully asleep at times Deathbringer." She said before looking at me. "Besides, if it's for one of my friends, I can always make time to talk to them. What is it that you need Static?" She asked me, though she didn't move herself from her current position.

"I thought I'd come to you before I set off for my journey, along with needing to ask you and Deathbringer a question or two." I explained. "You see, it involves part of my trip, which requires me to find a member of every tribe to bring with me. I'm already bringing Singularity, since I'm certain she wouldn't allow any other Rainwing to go with me, but of course, I figured while I was here…"

"That you would be able to find your Nightwing as well." Glory finished for me. "Yes, I could see why you would want to come to me for that. Even though you're my friend Static, and I can't stop my subjects from leaving if they want to, I don't exactly like the fact that you might be taking them into possible danger. That said, it's still their choice, as long as you explain everything involving this trip to whoever you choose and if they agree to go with you."

I nodded, expecting as much. "I understand, but that's only one reason I came to talk to you. The second reason is because I was wondering if either you or Deathbringer knew of any Nightwings that might be a good choice for me to bring along. I don't exactly know that many Nightwings, and I was wondering if you had any recommendations."

"Well, I would send Deathbringer with you to ensure you don't get into too much trouble, but for some reason he refuses to ever leave my side. It's mildly concerning, though flattering. However, with the Nightwings, I could only give you a list of which Nightwings are less grumpy than others. I'm still learning more about them, but many are still adjusting to their new lives here in the rainforest. After everything that happened to them, I don't think any will be willing to join you on a journey, but you are free to go to their camp and ask around."

"Alright, that's fine. Thanks for helping anyway. And Glory," I said, before walking up and hugging her, in which she got off the ground and returned the hug. "Thanks for being so helpful and for being my friend. You've definitely helped me a lot since I've gotten here."

"It's no problem at all. Just be sure to get back from your journey safe, alright?" She asked as she let go of the hug. "Just don't get yourself killed, and try to keep my subjects safe as well. And be sure to tell me who you bring along with you before you leave, so I don't have to worry about anyone suddenly being missing, alright?" I nodded, before smiling and flying off of the pavilion, heading towards the hut I had been using for the last month.

Glory had been nice enough to give me an empty hut to use during this last month, as a place I could rest and prepare for my trip. I had already acquired a few bags and some supplies while traveling with the dragonets, and I felt I would be prepared supplies wise for the coming trip. I only had to worry about getting supplies as well for Singularity, since Sara already had not one but two sets of supplies from her trip here with Scorpion (though she did give the second set to Singularity to use, in which Singularity went and packed for herself).

With supplies not currently an issue, I landed at my hut, only to be tackled by a yellow projectile. "Static! It's good to see you again!" Singularity said. I had been gone for about a week with the dragonets, and I had left Singularity behind to make sure she was fully ready to leave her village for an extended time, such as goodbyes. Standing in front of me, being with a cool looking yet beautiful pattern of blues and silvers, with yellow escaping through her excitement, I was glad to see Singularity again.

"Hey Static, glad to see your trip went just fine." Sara said, peeking her head from around the corner of the doorway to see what the commotion was about. It had been difficult to convince her to stay behind and prepare, but when I explained that I wanted to spend some time with my friends before I was forced to leave, she understood and stayed behind with Singularity.

"Hey you two, I'm glad to see you again. So, are both of you ready to head off for our trip?" I asked, stepping into the hut. It was a simple hut, with a leaf roof that kept rain out but let sun through, and I only used it as a place to rest or keep my supplies. I went over to the corner, grabbing my bags that I had set aside, before heading over to a table and pushing it to the center of the hut.

"We're ready to go when you are, but I would at least like to know your plan before we head off." Sara said. "That is, if you have a plan for how we're going to do this. You do have a plan, right?" She asked as I unrolled a map of the continent down on the table. I nodded, ushering the two over to me, in which they stepped up to the table.

"Of course I have a plan. That's what this map is for." I explained, pointing to the map. "So as the two of you know, we need to have a representative of each tribe. Since we already have a Rainwing, all we need to do before leaving is to get a Nightwing as well, though according to Glory it will be difficult finding one willing to leave. After that, we'll head to the desert using the tunnel, and hopefully Sahara will be willing to go with us."

"From there, we'll fly to the Seawing kingdom, and try to find a way to contact the Seawings. I already have an idea of someone who might be willing to join us from there. After that, we'll head to the Mudwing kingdom, though finding a single Mudwing might be an issue since they like to stick together in groups. Then, we'll travel to the Skywing kingdom and ask for a Skywing willing to join us. During the whole trip, we'll be looking for either a way to contact the Icewings or the Talons of Peace, what's left of them that is, since the Icewing kingdom will not only be too cold for us to go to, but I also learned that they have an animus touched ice wall that kills anyone that isn't an Icewing."

Singularity was the first to speak once I was finished, meanwhile Sara studied over the map. "Are you certain that we have to bring a Nightwing with us?" She asked. "I had to treat them medically when they first got here, and from all of my experiences with them, I'm not exactly certain I want to be traveling across the continent with one. Can we at least wait until after we get the others to get one?"

I shook my head. "No, since we'll be halfway across the continent from here when we're done. It'll be easiest to have someone agree to come with us while we're still here, and Glory is still willing to let me take her subjects on this trip. She isn't overly enthusiastic about me potentially putting any of them in danger, but then again, she isn't exactly pleased I'm going to be facing danger myself."

Singularity sighed before nodding. "Alright, I guess. But we're going to talk more about this later, and you better not choose a female Nightwing!" She said, turning a few different colors.

"Oh, and why is that? Are you afraid that I might fall for them Singularity?" I said playfully, teasing her as she turned a bit pink. "My, you wouldn't be afraid of becoming _jealous_ , are you?" She was beginning to turn even more pink, and she was clearly blushing by this point.

"Ihavetomakesurei'mready." She quickly said, rushing over to her stuff, grabbing it, and then rushing out of the hut, but not before speaking again. "I'll be outside getting some fruit for us when you're both ready to go." And with that, Singularity left, leaving me with Sara, who was currently sighing and looking up at me sadly.

"Jack, you do know you can't tease her like that, especially since she knows you'll be leaving." Sara said. "It isn't fair to her to think there's a possibility for a relationship between you two, and you shouldn't forget that we don't belong here ourselves."

"I know that Sara. But it just makes me happy to see her happy, and it's amusing to see her blush like that. And besides, like you said, she already knows what's going to happen, so there's nothing to worry about, I assure you." I still didn't have the heart to tell my sister I wouldn't be going back with her. I was waiting for the right moment, a moment when I could tell her in a way she would understand and wouldn't have time to convince me otherwise.

So basically, not until the last possible moment. I still felt conflicted about that, unsure if it was the right thing to do or not. But that could wait until later, as Sara nodded and rolled up the map, handing it to me. "Just be careful is all, and try not to break her heart, alright?"

With that conversation finished, we both headed outside after grabbing our packs. Waiting out there was Singularity, sitting on the edge of a platform with a pile of fruit next to her. Sara and I sat next to her, thanking her for getting the fruit as we chowed down as well. We sat there, exchanging small talk and talking about the upcoming trib as we ate.

It was nice, sitting there and talking, but everything always comes to an end, so when the pile of fruit was gone and we were all ready, I took the lead as we headed to the Nightwing village. Along the way, I decided to talk to Singularity. "So do you have any recommendations on who we should take with us? I know you don't seem to be overly fond of the Nightwings, but there has to be at least one that was more pleasant than the others and might want to come with us."

Singularity shook her head. "Sorry, but no. Out of everyone of them that I met, they either were rude or kept to themselves, not wanting to have to ask a Rainwing for help. I tried talking to a few of them, but currently I don't know of anyone that might want to come with us."

I nodded as we kept moving forwards, knowing this would be difficult. We would have to find a Nightwing we could trust that would basically be putting their life on hold for a few months probably to help me to end the suffering of an ancient being that just wants to die. And with the war ending not too long ago and their defeat to the Rainwings, I could only guess not too many would be willing to even talk to me, since I helped with why they're current queen is a Rainwing.

When we landed, we found ourselves in the middle of the Nightwing village. It was coming along nicely, though there were still too few huts built for everyone so far, since it had only been over a month since they had arrived. When we landed, we got a few looks, since our group was the two special dragons and a Rainwing, but for the most part, the Nightwings kept to themselves.

Since we had arrived, I turned to the other two. "Alright, here's how we're going to do this." I explained. "We're going to split up and ask around, seeing if there is anyone that might be willing to come with us. Explain to them who we are, and that we'll be on an important journey that could last several months. Explain _only that_ to those that might be willing to accompany us, alright? We'll meet back here when the sun starts to go down, and if you do find someone that might be willing to come with us, go and find the other two. Got it?"

With the nods of agreement, we split up, each of us heading our own ways in search of our Nightwing us splitting up right then, our journey to begin searching for companions for the journey ahead had officially begun as we sought out a Nightwing to join us.

After several hours, I was beginning to get frustrated. Most of the Nightwings weren't helpful, not even willing to talk to me. The few that I was able to get some words out of weren't all that pleasant, and no one wanted to join our cause, or even give me any info as to anyone that might want to join us. As I had predicted and Glory had told me, none of the Nightwings really wanted to leave their new homes after everything that had happened, and currently I was all out of luck.

After having a particularly unpleasant conversation with a Nightwing who left me once more without any information, I decided it was time to take a break, and since all I had eaten that day was a squirrel on my flight there and a pile of fruit for lunch, I decided to go hunting. I made my way into the rainforest, heading further and further in.

As I walked, it gave me plenty of time to think. While I traveled through the forest, with the sounds of the Nightwing village getting further and further away, I thought of possible ways to find a Nightwing willing to join us. While thoughts crossed my mind, such as Singularity's idea to get them last, which would give the Nightwings more time to settle into their new home, I realized for the first time in over half an hour where I was.

Noticing my surroundings, I realized I was in another clearing of the rainforest, one i hadn't been in before. Looking around, I realized I was a great distance from the Nightwing village, and that I was the only one out there. Examining the clearing, I saw that it wasn't that large, but had a large hole in the center of it. Curious, I walked up to the hole, wondering what it was.

Looking down, I realized I was staring into the mouth of a cave. With hunger still on my mind, the possibility of the cave being something's den, along with my curiosity of the cave, I decided I would explore it quickly. Grabbing a branch, I condensed a bolt of lightning in my throat, before releasing it at the branch and igniting it, a trick I had learned over the past month (though not without a few errors, such as making a small tree explode once).

With my torch in hand, and my curiosity of the cave heightened, I walked forwards, entering the cave. Since it was a hole at first, the first few feet was a bit steep, but after hoping down when my feet started to slide, I found myself in the entrance of the cave. Wanting to make this trip quick so I could get back to the village and continue searching soon, I started walking forwards.

It was a simple cave, with moss growing on the edges and a few other plants growing where they could. As i went deeper, I realized that this was a full size cave, and not only could I move around freely, but there was still space for a few other dragons left around me. However, as I continued, I realized a problem: I hadn't seen any signs of any animals, so there might not be anything for me to hunt down here.

Deciding that since I was already down here, I would push on a bit further. As I did so, I saw that my torch was beginning to not reflect light as far forwards, and when I looked closely, I saw there was an opening up ahead, with light flickering from it. With curiosity, I made my way forwards, wondering what was up ahead.

When I moved forwards, I found myself in a large cavern. Looking around, I could see torches set up along a few of the walls, and what even looked like a campsite in the middle of the cavern. However, before I could look any closer, I heard something snap and move under my feet. Looking down, i had time to look surprised and drop my torch as a net went up from under my feet, trapping me above the ground.

Looking in surprise, I could see I was in a sturdy net, the kind that was laced with fireproof wire. I didn't dare try burning it with my lightning, afraid that would be enough to send the electricity through the rest of the wire in the net, which would then shock me. _"Well, I definitely wasn't expecting a net when I came down here. Seriously, who just leaves a net in the middle of a cave?"_ I thought to myself as I tried to cut through the rope with my talons anyway.

"Well, when you're expecting a surprise visitor that you know nothing about, it pays to be prepared." I heard a female voice say. Looking up, I could see a dragon stepping out of the shadows, which I soon recognized to be a Nightwing. In the torchlight, I could make out that she was mostly black, with purple outlines and silver under scales. She had two silver scales by each of her eyes, like teardrops, which I had seen a few other Nightwings like Fatespeaker have. However, unlike most of the Nightwings in the village, she seemed perfectly healthy, if not a little creepy for being alone in a cave by herself.

"I am not creepy!" She yelled at me, making me move back in the net, surprised. "Besides, I have some questions for you. What do you mean, Nightwing village? And who are you, and how did you find this cave? I made sure myself that this was a place that no one ever came to."

I looked at the curious Nightwing with a confused expression as I answered. "With the Nightwing village, I mean where the Nightwings currently live, out in the rainforest next to the Rainwings. As for how I got here, I was just wandering from said village thinking to myself and hunting. Also, my name is Static, and it's kind of a long story of who I am." _"A really long story."_ I thought to myself.

She sat down in front of the net, looking up at me. "I don't have anything planned. Why don't you tell me who you are, and while you're at it, tell me about what's going on in the outside world. Why are the Nightwings living near the Rainwings? What's happening with the war? Just anything you think I should know."

At the mention of the war, I raised an questioning gaze at her. "...How long have you been out here? The war has been over for about a month, and the Nightwings were making their village before that. And before answering your questions, I would at least like to know the name of the apparently isolated Nightwing that put me in a net."

At her blank look after she put away her surprised one from the mention of the war, I could tell she wasn't overly happy with my answer. "Fine, since you want to know so much, my name is Asteroid. Now, what do you mean the war is over? It wasn't supposed to be over for another two years. The Nightwing prophecy says so!"

With even more questions filling my head, I decided I would explain things to her, starting from the beginning, since I didn't have many other choices while trapped in a net. "Alright, I'm going to tell you everything I know. Let me tell you, my story is crazy though, and you probably won't believe me." With her still blank expression, I decided to start.

I started at how I had arrived here, and what kind of dragon I was. As I had guessed, she looked extremely sceptical, but as I described some of what I had felt, it was as if she had come across...something, before looking surprised and seeming to believe me. I continued, telling her about the dragonets of destiny, in which she murmured to herself about how Glory wasn't a Skywing. After that, I told her about how the war had ended a month prior, and how each of the tribes were doing, including the Nightwing's failed plot and how they now were ruled by Glory.

"So that's where they were this whole time." Asteroid said, nodding. "But still, if the war ended a month ago, why haven't they come back for me yet?..." She asked herself. She then looked up to me. "Have there been any Nightwings that joined the others after the volcano erupted? Specifically a Nightwing that looks similar to me, but a bit smaller?" She asked.

I shook my head. "No, sorry. I know that there were two Nightwings that joined after the others, which was a mother who had been secretly raising her daughter in the rainforest away from the volcano, but other than that, no." At her saddened gaze, I decided to ask about it. "Are you looking for someone in particular? I could probably help you find them."

She looked up at me quickly, her eyes widened, but she quickly shook her head, looking down at the ground confused, murmuring to herself with what I thought I heard as "Is this why I saw myself traveling with him?" She shook it off though, looking at me. "No, I don't need your help finding my sister. I can do that myself. But you did answer my questions, so I guess I'll let you down for now." As she said that, she swept her claws at a stick, slicing it apart, which was apparently the only thing holding me up above the ground.

"Oof." I said as I landed. I got up, rubbing at my side where I had landed. "You could have warned me at least." Looking up off of the ground, I could see her over by her makeshift campsite, packing things away. As I got off of the ground, I decided to ask her about why she had put a net in the entrance of her cave.

"The net was for you, of course." She suddenly spoke aloud, making me take a step back in surprise. "I mean, I foresaw you coming here, but I didn't see anything after that, so I didn't exactly know what to do, so I took precautions. Of course, if my darn visions would just let me see even a few seconds more, maybe then I would be able to know you weren't hostile."

This, of course, made me very surprised. From the way she was talking, it was like she actually had the Nightwing powers. "Of course I have the powers." She said, looking over her shoulder at me questioningly. "I mean, sure, I've heard that not all Nightwings have both, but of course I would have at least one. You said you've been around the Nightwing's village, correct? It should be no surprise about our powers."

At that, I didn't know what to do. I was hesitant to keep thinking now, since I knew she could read my thoughts (though after I thought that, I heard her scoff slightly in amusement). I wasn't sure how she actually had Nightwing powers, and if any of the other Nightwings actually had powers and weren't speaking, or if there was something different about her. Of course, thinking about that made Asteroid immediately turn around and look at me, wide eyed.

"What did you just say?" She asked. "Why wouldn't the Nightwings at the village have powers? That makes no sense! Why wouldn't they have their powers anymore?" With that, she left her stuff behind, walking up to me. "Tell me about what you know about the Nightwings, and everything they've done since they lost their powers, just in case there's something that took them away that I have to avoid."

I shook my head, actually getting to speak this time. "It isn't like that. According to the Nightwings, they've never had their powers, or at least haven't had them since before they moved to the volcano, which would be a couple of generations ago." This of course caused her to look a bit more confused, before she shook her head.

"It doesn't make sense...but at the same time, it doesn't matter. What matter's right now is me finding my sister. If the war is over, like you said, then everyone should be at peace. I'll just need to travel around, asking if anyone has seen a Nightwing like me. Then, once I find her, maybe we'll finally be able to go to the Skywing palace and find... _her._ " Asteroid said to herself, once more packing away her stuff as I watched.

At this point, I was more than a little concerned. Here was this dragon, all by herself, apparently having waited some time in hiding for her sister, who has gone missing. She has the long lost Nightwing powers, and knows nothing about what is happening in the outside world. She was about to go searching by herself for her sister, in which she would then go with her to the Skywing kingdom to find someone else.

"Stop making it sound impossible!" She shouted, turning to me. "And stop it with those thoughts about having me come with you for whatever strange journey it is you're on. I'm not interested. I just want to find my sister, and I'm going to cross the whole continent by myself to find her." She stopped for a second, closing her eyes and rubbing her temple with a talon as she started to continue. And… MOVE!" She suddenly interrupted her speech, rushing at me and making my eyes open wide as the ground started to shake.

Asteroid ran up to me, tackling me and pushing both of us into the cave. Right as she did so, with us both landing on the ground. Several rocks began falling from the mouth of the cave, crushing the spot where I had just been standing. I looked at the spot as the ground shook even more, and soon the cave was blocked off, leaving us both trapped in here.

 _Meanwhile, on the other side of the cave…._

I cursed to myself. That stupid Nightwing and her stupid visions. I almost had that pawn out for the count, and with something as simple as falling rocks no less! But _nooo,_ of course things can't be that easy, especially when there's a Nightwing that can see when you're going to attack next!

While I hissed, I studied my work. At the very least, the cave was effectively blocked off, trapping them both in there. There would be no way for either of them to escape, not with the whole cave system now blocked with rocks of all shapes and sizes. I knew they weren't dead yet, but they would be eventually, and I decided to leave it at that.

With that problem all done and dealt with, I decided to get back to my current plans. I still had to deal with those other dragons that might eventually stand in my way. Even if that insufferable pawn managed to escape that cave, he'd still have a tough time getting to the rest of his little group needed to get to me.

As I moved to make my way back, I stopped, grasping my head as I felt my other half fighting back for control. Try as I might, she was still the original owner of our body, and had been here longer. I was forced into the back of our mind, but I knew she wouldn't be able to hold herself together that long, so I just had to wait for a few minutes, though I did hate being so rudely interrupted.

Now that I had control over myself, I looked over to see what my sinister side had done while I had been out. Looking at the caved in structure, I knew that she had done something. Closing my eyes, I used my oldest animus enchantment, looking through the rocks and into the cave. I wasn't all that surprised to see young Jack there, knowing my other half had obviously just tried to stop him.

As I opened my eyes, I thought of ways I might be able to help him, even if just a little. I couldn't risk moving the rocks, or my other half might turn the enchantment against both of us. Thinking quickly, I used a quick spell, loosening the rocks so that they could at least be moved. It would still take them some time before they could escape the cave, since they would have to dig, but they would still be able to escape.

I grasped my head as I felt my other half striking back for control once more. But before I let her have control once more, I did one last little enchantment, so small that hopefully she wouldn't be able to notice. I lost control right as the spell connected, in which I knew that the Nightwing in the cave with Jack was about to have a vision. With that done, and all of my energy spent, I receded, going back into my mind.

I huffed angrily, seeing the work that my other half had done. She had also double checked her work, making sure I wasn't able to change anything about it. Aw well, it wasn't meant to trap them anyway, and i didn't want to have to waste any more magic on those two. For the moment, at the very least.

I opened a portal before me, stepping through and into the desert, where some Sandwing bandits were about to get something that they would find to be _very_ interesting.

 _Meanwhile, back in the cave…_

I looked back at where I had just been standing, still staring in shock. "Wow," I said, my eyes glued to the rocks. "If you hadn't moved when you had, I would have been killed. Thanks Asteroid." When she didn't respond, I looked over to her, seeing her clutching her head. I immediately went over to her, wondering if she was okay. "Are you alright? Did you get hit in the head or something?" I asked, afraid she had a concussion.

She shook her head before looking up at me, her eyes seeming to glow as she spoke in a soft, mystic like voice, as if in a trance. _"To stop a dragon whose powers are great, whose mind hangs in the balance of life and fate, you must traverse the land, to find seven dragons with certain traits that are grand. When all is said and done, you must think as one. To look to the sky, for a tower that stands up high. Up through the clouds, searching through the shrouds. In the tower will be much to fear, and all must be done within one year, for if an ancient is not laid to rest, the world will fall in the failure of your quest."_

As she finished, with me looking quite startled and not knowing what to do, Asteroid seemed to go back to normal. However, she looked quite tired, and she began to fall. I caught her before she landed, and I saw she had passed out from what seemed to be exhaustion. Looking at her, and the situation I was in, trapped in a cave where no one else knows where I am, I could only think of one thing.

"What do I do now?"

 **Author's note: Woot! The first chapter of arc 1.5, my own custom arc! I'm doing actual writing, not just a self insert! I'm really pumped about this, and I can't wait to see where this story goes myself. Anyways, I would like to thank all of you reading this for sticking through my story all the way to this point. As it turns out, this story is currently the 3rd longest WoF fanfiction! And we're not even halfway done! I can't believe i've actually written this much, and I'd like to thank you all for supporting me enough for us to actually make it this far. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter, and as usual, the next chapter will be up on time next week.**


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

I looked at the rocks that filled the cave exit, wondering just how I was going to get out of here. I had put Asteroid down on her pile of furs, allowing her to rest off whatever it was that made her fall unconscious. Her words still filled my mind as I examined the cave exit and the cave itself, looking for any way out while trying to find the meaning behind her words.

Obviously, her words were a prophecy involving the adventure I was currently on. The first part, talking about seven dragons with special traits, was probably what I was doing now, in my search for a dragon from each tribe to get to wherever Storm was. That led to the second part, in which we would have to find this tower in the clouds, which I could only presume wasn't going to be easy, since a tower floating in the clouds would obviously be well known, so it was somehow hidden.

Then there was the tower itself, in which the prophecy spoke of it being dangerous. Finally, there was the problem of all of this having to be done within one year. Sure, that seemed like a long time, but with the fact that I would have to travel all over the continent to find allies, then search for an unknown tower, then get through the tower and finally complete all of this, it certainly wasn't going to be easy.

I sighed as I moved over to the fallen rocks, thinking about how I was going to do get out of here. There were no other exits in the cave, and it was obvious we were several feet underground, so digging up wasn't an option either. So, with no other obvious options available, I started to pick up rocks, moving them aside and out of the way of the exit.

This was probably the slowest and most dangerous method of escape, but it was the only one I had currently. It was the slowest due to how I could only move one or two rocks at a time, and had to carry them away from the tunnel. It was the most dangerous due to how the tunnel was now unstable, and if I got a good distance into the tunnel and the rocks in the ceiling shifted, I could be crushed.

Not exactly the happiest thought, but I pushed on, continuing my slow process as I move one rock after another.

Eventually, I got into a rhythm, and was even humming to myself as I did so. I became so focused in my actions that I didn't hear the shuffling behind me as Asteroid woke up, and only noticed her getting up and rubbing her head as I moved yet another rock over to the pile I had created.

"Oh, hello, glad to see you're awake." I said as she looked up at what I was doing. "Hopefully if you help me out, we'll be able to get out of here even quicker. But first things first, what caused you to fall unconscious like that? Was it because of your prophecy or something?"

She slowly nodded as she moved over to examine the tunnel I was slowly digging out. "I...believe so, but I've never had a vision that strong before, and never did they make me pass out from exhaustion. I don't know why that happened to be perfectly honest, and I still don't even know how to feel about it. The vision was obviously important to your current adventure though, and it seemed to be talking about the fate of the world. Is your adventure really that important?" She asked.

I stopped what I was doing before thinking for a second, remembering our time limit or else "the world would fall". "Possibly. The person who wants me to end their life, Storm, has been alive for several thousand years. She said she wanted it to end, and I'm unsure of the lengths she might go to get her wish fulfilled. Theres also something she mentioned to me, about moments where she'll blank out and then return later, unsure of what she did during that time period. It's quite possible she might accidentally do something during one of those moments, but since I don't know all of the details, I'm not certain."

Asteroid nodded slowly. "Alright, I think I understand. So she brought you here so you could end her suffering, correct?" I nodded. "Hm, then I wonder why she wasn't more specific on how you're supposed to do it, and why she hasn't just ended herself." I explained how Storm had told me there were reasons that she couldn't just kill herself. "Alright, that makes sense. But enough about this, we need to focus on a way to get out of here."

"Well, I've already started on clearing the tunnel back." I said, pointing to my progress. Of course, it wasn't that much, due to how slow progress was. I had only moved enough rocks out of the way to be able to fit all of myself into the tunnel, and that was it. The tunnel was a five to ten minute walk, so my progress had barely begun.

Asteroid shook her head. "That's too dangerous and it will take too long. We have to find another way out." She closed her eyes, looking like she was deeply concentrating. "No...no….maybe, but that would take even longer….come on, there has to be something…." She muttered to herself over the course of about ten minutes, meanwhile I continued to move rocks out of the way.

Finally, Asteroid opened her eyes, looking slightly frustrated before walking up besides me and grabbing a rock. "I tried looking into different visions for ideas on other ways out. I hate how my powers work sometimes, since all I could really see was us working side by side and moving these blasted rocks. It's going to take a while, but unless you want to try blowing up the ceiling with the chance of crushing us to death, I suggest we keep doing this."

"Alright then, that's fine by me. It will even go faster now that there are two of us working on it." And with that, the two of us started working, moving one rock after another out of the tunnel. We worked for a minute in silence, before I decided to speak up. "So how do your powers work anyway? Do you have to focus on someone before you can read their minds, and how do your visions work as well?"

Asteroid looked to be thinking for a second as she pushed a large rock across the cave floor and over to the pile. "Well, I'm not sure I should say, but since we're going to be in here for a while, speaking might make the time go by faster. Basically, mind reading just works like how you would hear a normal person talking; it's just there, and I don't know how to tune one dragon or another out, though I'm sure there must be a way how."

"As for the visions of the future, they just happen randomly or when I really try to focus. For instance, I didn't know those rocks were going to fall due to that earthquake, not until the last minute when I had a vision of them crushing and killing you. Visions can happen randomly at any time, though they to appear in dreams a lot, which makes it difficult to tell when something is a dream or a vision."

"Sounds interesting, though it also sounds like it could be hard to live with." I said. "I mean, since you can't seem to turn off your mind reading, there's always the chance of hearing something you were never meant to hear, and then I could only imagine what standing in the middle of a large crowd of dragons would be like, with all of their thoughts out in the open like that. The visions also sound tricky, like if you saw someone being hurt, you wouldn't know why or how to prevent it until it's already happening."

Asteroid gave me a strange look. "You definitely aren't like most dragons. From the few that i've talked to about my powers, they almost always become jealous, wishing they had my powers. You, on the other hand, seem to be feeling remorse for the possible problems my powers could bring." She shook her head as she grabbed another rock. "Do all scavengers think like you do?"

I shrugged as I finished moving another rock over to the pile. "I don't know about scavengers, but from the few that i've talked to, they seem like normal people. However, that doesn't mean that people normally think like I do. I've experienced a lot, and have a different perspective of things than most would have. Instead of wishing I had things, I wonder what those things would do if I had them, and if it would be worth the effort to actually get them, and if I would actually need them."

Asteroid sighed as she grabbed another rock. "I wish other dragons would think like you. The few times I revealed I had powers to other dragons, they always tried to use me, to use my powers for their own selfish goals. It's why my sister and I ran away, so we wouldn't be used anymore. Well, that and so we could find...well, nevermind."

I looked at Asteroid curiously before trying another conversation. "So, you keep mentioning your sister. I can understand wanting nothing more than to get back to a sister myself, and I know the feeling of missing them as well. If you want to talk about them, go ahead. I don't mind listening."

Asteroid looked at me for a second, looking like she was trying to figure me out. While she did so, I continued moving rocks, thinking about Sara and how she was back at the Nightwing village, probably wondering where I had wandered off to. I knew I had to get out of here soon, not wanting her to panic and think I left her after we had finally found each other again.

Asteroid tried to hide a slight smile as she more than likely listened to my thoughts, and I watched as she seemed to pick up the pace, trying to move rocks even faster. "Well, my sister's name is Comet, for starters. Like I've said, she looks similar to me, though her scales are all black instead of having purple like mine. Even though I am the older one, she was always the stronger out of the two of us, though that did make her a bit arrogant at times, and it was fun to pick on her with how vain she is sometimes."

"We were raised together, the two of us, by a Sandwing obsessed with the stars. Ours eggs had been hidden by our mother, who we only knew was captured by Scarlet, and that's it. We never knew what happened to her, and we've always wanted to find out. As for the Sandwing, he never told his name, though since we were both young at the time, we called him Sandy since he was a Sandwing and his claws always had sand on them." 

"Like I said before, Sandy was obsessed with the stars, and as Comet and I grew up, we became fascinated with them as well, watching them cross the sky every night. Sandy taught us many things about the world, but we learned almost everything about the sky and it's secrets." Asteroid stopped for a second, closing her eyes as if lost in thought. "Of course, all good things come to an end, eventually."

"One day, Sandy didn't show up. In his place were two Sandwing bandits, who were more than enthusiastic about finding Comet and I. They were planning on taking us; to where, I don't know. Comet and I fought though, managing to escape them. We knew we couldn't go back, so we flew, not stopping for a long time. We started learning how to survive from there, focusing on each other on how to survive from there. It wasn't easy, two Nightwings with no home in the middle of a large war, but we got by."

"However, one day, the two of us got caught in a battle between the Mudwings and the Icewings. I got hit in the side hard, crushed between an Icewing and a Mudwing. My wing snapped, and as I fell to the ground, I was sure I was dead. However, my sister caught me and dragged me away, fighting off any dragons that dared to get in her way. After several hours of flight, she found this cave, placing me inside and letting my wing heal. She left as soon as she was sure I'd be alright, saying she was going to scope the place out and look around. She never came back."

"It's been about a year since that happened. I've stayed here since, waiting for my sister in case she ever returned. I promised myself I would wait one year, and if she didn't return by then, I'd go search for her. One year was about a week ago, however, I had a vision of myself talking to a strange looking dragon here in this cave, and I somehow felt that that strange dragon would help me find my sister. And that's where we are now."

We both stayed silent for a few minutes, each of us lost in thought. "So," I said, deciding to finally speak up. "Have you decided if you do want my help in finding your sister?" I asked. "I would be more than willing to help you look while we travel, and since I'll be searching over the whole continent, I'm sure we would be able to find her."

Asteroid stopped moving rocks, caught in her thoughts once more. "I'll think about it." She finally said as she grabbed another rock. "I'm not certain, but I still have this feeling that if I have any chance of finding my sister, my best bet is to stick with you."

I grinned, happy that Asteroid was probably going to be accompanying me. "I said I'd think about it!" She said as I chuckled, moving another rock out of the way. She was definitely interesting, and it would be nice to have her along, compared to the attitudes of most of the other Nightwings. Besides, with her fascination over the stars, I knew that she and Singularity were going to get along just fine.

"Singularity, huh? What an odd name, especially for a Rainwing. And I don't see how my fascination with the stars would make me get along well with a Rainwing. Aren't they generally lazy and focus more on fruit and napping?" She asked. I chuckled again, thinking about how Singularity was anything other than the Rainwing stereotype.

However, with the strange conversation we were happening, I couldn't help but wonder about something that could be an issue. "Hey Asteroid, so is there any way I can have you not looking at my thoughts? I don't mean it as an insult or anything, I just like to actually be speaking when it comes to a conversation."

Asteroid shrugged as she moved past me carrying another rock. "If there is, I don't know of it. You can try to block me, if you want, though I doubt it will work. Just make sure it doesn't stop you from moving these rocks. I want to get out of here quickly." I nodded in agreement as I grabbed another rock, clearing the path enough that we could both fit inside the tunnel easily now.

I began thinking through my head of comics and fictional stories of how characters would block out mind readers. Since I didn't have any special chemicals or a giant metal hat (in which Asteroid gave me a strange look for those thoughts), I began just thinking of ways I could block her using my thoughts.

First try, I tried thinking of a song in my head, using just a simple commercial jingle and thinking of it over and over in my head. I tried thinking while the jingle continued, seeing if Asteroid could still hear my thoughts. "Yes, I can." She replied. "And can you please stop with that jingle. It's kind of annoying."

With that plan not successful, I decided to move onto my next one: Just not thinking. At all. I gave up plan B after about five minutes, when I felt like I was going to go insane from the silence. "Dang it," Asteroid said when I finally started thinking. "It was finally quiet in here again."

I rolled my eyes as I went onto strategy number three. I tried thinking of a barrier of sorts, envisioning a lightning storm over my thoughts (I still don't know why I thought of a lightning storm, but for some reason it just felt...natural). I thought of the storm covering my thoughts, the lightning not letting any of my thoughts out and not letting anyone see them.

After I had created my barrier, I began thinking passive thoughts while still imaging the barrier. With no reaction from Asteroid, I tried thinking at her, while still thinking of the barrier. _"Asteroid, can you hear me?"_ I thought. I stood holding a rock for a few moments, watching for her reaction, but after several moments I realized she didn't have one.

"So, how long are you going to be thinking of lightning clouds?" Asteroid asked as she grabbed another rock. When she turned around, she saw my grin. "What's that grin for? We're still trapped down here and...wait a second. Are you thinking of things other than the clouds?" She asked, looking surprised.

I nodded. "The clouds I'm thinking of are a barrier of sorts. I guess as long as I'm thinking of a physical barrier, you can't read my mind. Intriguing, though I doubt I'll be able to do it much without practice, and if I'm doing something serious like fighting, I'll probably forget to do it. But hey, at least now we know how to stop your mind reading."

"Yeah…" Asteroid said, looking back at her rock as she placed it on the pile we had made. "I'm just...surprised you were able to do it is all. Especially so quickly, though now that I think about it, you've probably been working on it for over an hour, so maybe it's not surprising."

I looked at Asteroid for a second, wondering what she was thinking about, and what could be wrong. It had something to do with how I had figured out how to block her mind reading, that was for certain. As I thought about it, I realized that she had been down here, by herself, for over a year, with no one to talk to. If I had to guess, I could only assume she was lonely, and was glad to finally hear another person after all this time, especially if she was used to hearing their thoughts.

So, with that thought in mind, I stopped thinking about the lightning barrier, and instead thinking about the more exciting parts of my adventures so far. I saw Asteroid stop for a second, and she looked like she was about to speak up, but she stayed silent, grinning to herself as I thought about Tempest's ten point dive into a crowd of panicked Seawings.

 _Several hours later…_

I fell to the ground, exhausted, my arms killing me with all the work I had made them do. Asteroid was in a similar state, laying on her furs with her arms flopped out on either side of her. We had been working for hours without many breaks, moving rock after rock out of the way. Yet even after all of our work, we had only cleared what I could guess to be a twentieth of the path, and we had a lot more work to do.

With that thought in mind, I turned to Asteroid. "You mentioned earlier another idea of how to get out of here, though it might kill us. With my arms killing me right now, I'd actually like to hear the idea right now, because another way out of here other than moving all of those rocks out of the way would be greatly appreciated."

Asteroid looked uncertain for a second before pointing to her bag. "I have a couple of plants in there that my sister and I collected, in case we were ever caught and put in a prison. They're known as dragonflame cactus, and on contact with fire, they'll explode. Essentially, we could use them on the ceiling, blowing a hole through the ground, but there are still some...issues, with that plan."

"You see, when a cactus explodes, it shoots out several spiky seed pods in all directions, which can be very dangerous to most dragons. Then there's the fact of how unstable the cave already is. If we set off an explosion, we could potentially knock the whole cave in on itself. Finally, there's the placement of the cactus. If we place it on the wrong part of the ceiling, we could potentially blow up the cave right under a tree, and then we'd still be stuck."

I nodded. These were certainly many problems, but as she stated each one, I thought up a contradicting plan. The only issue I couldn't think a way out of was the last one, so I turned to Asteroid. "I'm going to start using the rocks we moved out of the way to create a form of fort that can protect us from the seeds. While i do that, you begin thinking of where would be the best place to put your bombs."

"But what about the structural integrity of the cave?" She asked. I answered her by building my wall of rocks in front of the tunnel we had dug out. "Oh, you plan on putting down rock pillars in the tunnel, that way even if the cave does collapse, we'll still have our original plan to work with, and we won't be crushed. Alright, though I don't exactly like the idea of being in a cramped space with a dragon I just met." She said, in which I rolled my eyes, getting to work.

It took a few hours more, and I was beginning to feel really tired from all of the rocks I had moved, along with how I had eaten since around noon and it was most likely night now, but my task was finally done. I had built a several rock thick wall that would (hopefully) protect Asteroid and I from the blast, along with placing rock pillars on the inside of the tunnel and clearing off loose rocks to ensure the tunnel's stability. Meanwhile, Asteroid was getting to work as well, securing a knot on the rope that was holding a bag of cactus bombs to the cave's roof.

Asteroid flew down to me, looking between the wall and the bombs. "I really hope this works." She said. "I've only been able to have two visions in the last few hours, since it's kinda hard to just force them to happen. The first one was of me placing the bombs there and us hiding behind the wall. The second was of us getting crushed by several boulders. Thankfully, the two weren't connected, but still, it isn't exactly promising…" She said, looking at a few distinct areas of the cave roof.

"I'm sure we'll be fine." _"Hopefully"._ I thought, in which Asteroid gave me an unsure look. "Hey, it's either this or several days trapped in this cave with no food or water. Even though according to a friend of mine we could go a month like that, I still don't advise it." As I said that, I made my way behind my wall and into the tunnel. Asteroid looked uncertain for a moment longer before joining me, carrying a thin piece of rope with her.

As Asteroid stood beside me, she took several deep breaths, which was understandable, since there was a slight chance we were about to be crushed to death. "Thanks for the words of encouragement." She said blankly, before taking one more breath and letting out a small plume of fire, igniting the thin piece of rope. Asteroid let go of the rope as the flame got to her hands, in which the rope began burning in earnest, traveling along its way.

As the rope continued to burn, the flame passed behind the rock wall, out of our sight. "So, how long do you think we'll have to wait for the flame to reach the cactus?" I asked, looking over to Asteroid.

Asteroid shrugged as she reached over behind her, where all of her stuff was packed into several bags. "No clue. All I know is that as soon as one cactus catches fire, it'll explode and cause a chain reaction in the other cactuses, causing them all to ignite around the same time. Hopefully it won't take too long, but it'll still take a bit for that flame to reach the cactus."

I nodded, going back to sitting and waiting. I thought about what I was going to do once I got out of here, starting with finding Sara and Singularity, who, knowing them, were probably turning the Nightwing village inside out looking for me. I grinned at the thought, imagining Singularity lifting up every rock in the rainforest while Sara interrogated anything that moved about my whereabouts (this thought process got me a strange look from Asteroid, of course).

After several minutes of just sitting there, waiting for the bombs to go off, I was interrupted from my conversation with Asteroid about different views on morals and philosophy (even I don't know how that happened), with the first of the bombs going off. As I explained what humility and spite were, there was a large _**"BOOM"**_ which filled the cave. Asteroid and I jumped, not expecting it, and we both slammed ourselves to the ground and covered our ears as several other explosions followed, in which I could see the rocks of the wall shifting a bit with each consecutive explosion.

I watched for several minutes as each cactus went off, wondering just how many Asteroid had with her. I heard her yell an answer, but I could hear her as several more explosions went off, preventing me from hearing her. While the explosions continued, dust began to fall, in which I shut my eyes so none of it would blind me.

After several minutes had passed, the explosions finally stopped. After making sure it was over, I brushed any dust off of my head before opening my eyes, looking around. I could see Asteroid getting up as well, and the wall was still holding, though several rocks looked out of place. Looking around the corner, I checked to see if our plan had worked, along with if any of the bombs didn't go off.

Looking around, I could see a large hole in the ceiling, easily large enough for both of us to fly through. Meanwhile, looking around, I could see several spiky looking seeds covering the entire cave, but not a single cactus appeared to still be in one piece. I let out a low whistle, looking at the damage. "Dang, those cactuses sure do pack a punch." I said, making my way forwards, meanwhile being careful to avoid the seed pods, which looked quite sharp.

"Yep, that's why the Skywings and Mudwings used them during the war, and why my sister and I made sure to have a few." Asteroid said. "Now, if you don't mind me, I would really like to get out of this cave." She said, opening her wings.

I nodded in agreement, opening my wings as well, leading the way into the night of the rainforest, glad to finally be breathing fresh air once more, even though I was only trapped in that cave for about half of a day. I flew up and into the clearing, happy to see the night sky and the stars once more. After a moment, Asteroid landed beside me, following my gaze.

"Do you ever get tired of looking at the sky and the stars?" I asked, taking it all in, glad to finally have the whole world open to me once more. In a way, I now had a fraction of the feeling both Asteroid and the dragonets felt, being stuck in a cave for several years. I stared up the sky, grinning as I also understood more of Singularitie's fascination with the stars, knowing I could never see them like this back home.

"No." Asteroid said. "I'll always look at the stars and always try to find something I didn't notice before. The sky and the space beyond it are endless, and every night I try to see more of it. But enough about that for now." She said, turning to me as I looked down. "I continued to consider your offer, and as long as you do attempt to help me find my sister during your travels, I would be more than delighted to join your group."

I grinned at her, and I was about to thank her for deciding to come along, but I was interrupted as I heard a shout come from the Rainforest. "Who would have the nerve to start blowing up my kingdom in the middle of the night!? Especially right after Static goes missing again no less!" I recognized the voice as Glory's, and as her yelling got closer, I knew I was probably in a bit of trouble, especially since I now noticed that some trees around the clearing were on fire, most likely due to the cactus bombs.

As I went over to the fires to put them out, with Asteroid following me to help a moment later, several dragons burst into the clearing. The group consisted of Glory, Deathbringer, Sara, Singularity, and a few Rainwing guards. Once they arrived, they exchanged their looks between the giant hole which now laid in the middle of the forest, before noticing Asteroid and me, and flying over to the two of us as we finished putting out the last of the fires.

"Static, I'm starting to think I'm going to need to put guards on you if every time you have a plan, I start going into a panic as you go missing." Glory said as Sara and Singularity flew over to me, both of which knocking me upside the head and asking where I went and how I had made them both worry, in which I could only grin.

Glory went from scolding me while secretly being glad to see that I was alright to looking over to Asteroid. "And with a Nightwing I haven't seen before, no less. And that's a surprise, since I made sure to see each and every one of my subjects directly. Who are you, and are you the reason why Static disappeared and why there is a new chasm in my rainforest?"

Asteroid looked at Glory for a second, as if studying her, before bowing. "I am sorry to have damaged your kingdom, Queen Glory. My name is Asteroid, and yes, I am the reason Static was absent for several hours, but that is partly due to how we were both trapped in that cave down there. We managed to escape, however, due to how I had some cactuses that act like bombs, which we used to destroy the roof and escape."

Glory nodded at Asteroid before turning to me. "Is this true, Static?" I nodded, in which Glory turned back to Asteroid. "Then there is no problem, since neither of you appear to be injured. Though I am still curious as to why I haven't seen you before. Were you living out here in secret from the Nightwings by any chance?" After a second, Asteroid nodded, since that would be the easiest way to explain it. Glory accepted her answer, muttering to herself that she would have to send a few search parties out to make sure there weren't any others.

I stepped up as she was talking to Deathbringer, who was having the Rainwing guards head back since there was no issues. "Glory, if I could, I'd like to talk to you about our conversation earlier." Glory turned to me, in which Sara and Singularity looked at me questioningly. "I was wondering if I had permission to take Asteroid here with me on my journey. I think she'd be very helpful to me, and as you can see, she already has all of her supplies packed."

Glory looked over at Asteroid before turning to me and nodding. "Very well. As long as Asteroid agrees, then you are allowed to take her with you. Just be careful and be sure that you stay safe. That goes to all of you." Glory said, looking at our group. "And since it's so late and none of us have had proper sleep yet since we've been searching for a missing dragon, be sure to rest in the village before starting your trip tomorrow."

I agreed, in which we all began going back to the Rainwing village. Along the way, I introduced Asteroid to Sara and Singularity, though I didn't mention her powers, since that was her secret to give. At first, Singularity was still skeptical about a Nightwing, but as soon as Asteroid mentioned her love for the stars, the two were instantly chatting away about the sky and the different constellations, which made me chuckle at Singularity's shift in mood.

As we all laid down for the night, I couldn't help but wonder what the rest of the trip had in store for me, if just trying to get our Nightwing nearly led to my death. But as usual, the only way I would experience the future would be to live it (or if I was given any hints by our new party member), and thus I went to sleep, with thoughts of the desert filling my mind, for our next stop would be in the kingdom of the sand.

 **Author's Note: Another week, another chapter. Woot! And now we have our Nightwing, so 2/7 dragon companions complete. I would also like to thank I Am Moonsong for the usage of Asteroid, and I can't wait to see where her character will go in my story. Also, I can't wait to see what it's like to write dialog for** _ **nine**_ **characters at once, so that's going to be interesting. But either way, thank you all so much for reading my story, in which I just checked the stats and saw that over a hundred people read this story! In which I must state very clearly THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING! I never thought I'd get more than 20 people reading this, and I just have to thank you all for your support, and as usual, I will keep the chapters coming and have the next one up hopefully on time.**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

With a good night's of rest and all of us carrying our supplies, the four of us were ready to head to the desert. We would be taking the tunnel, due to how it would save us time and Glory had already informed her guards there that we were to be let through it, which was nice of her since it would save us a couple days of travel.

With everyone ready and our path set, we left the Rainwing village and headed towards the tunnel, signifying that our journey had truly begun. We were all showing different emotions at this, with Sara and I focusing more on the task at hand and discussing what we were going to do once we arrived at the desert, Singularity bouncing around cheerfully at getting to see more of the world, and Asteroid keeping slightly to herself, though she was glad that we were moving.

"So when we get there, we'll just need to ask Sahara if she's willing to come with us." I explained. "This should just be a quick in and out trip, since I have already talked with her a bit before, and she said then that she would be more than willing to join us. So hopefully we'll be out of the desert and on our way to the Seawing's kingdom within a day."

"You know nothing is ever that easy." Sara told me. "I mean, with everything that's happened so far, haven't you noticed that a lot of cliches have happened? Nothing is ever as simple as "go get it". There always seems to be one obstacle or another around here." Sara sighed.

I shrugged. "I've got a good feeling about this, though I have noticed the cliche as well. It's almost like we're in our own adventure story at times." I said, chuckling. "But anyways, like I said before, unless something has come up, Sahara should be joining us. I got to talk to her a lot while the dragonets were in the Sandwing kingdom helping Thorn adjust to being a queen. She already knows everything about the quest and the two of us, so we should be fine."

When I originally told Sahara the truth about me, and how I was actually a human/scavenger before, she was first very skeptical. However, when I reminded her that she wore a necklace that managed to heal life threatening wounds and how that proves anything is possible, and explained my whole story along with some information like physics and technology from my world, she believed me. Of course, it still took a while to convince her and I'm still not a hundred percent certain she doesn't think I'm just crazy, but she still said she was willing to come along for the journey anyway.

"So what exactly is your relationship with Sahara that she's willing to just drop whatever she's doing working for the Sandwing queen and to instead come with you on a mystery journey to stop a mystery dragon?" Asteroid asked, looking at me curiously. After she asked that, I felt three pairs of eyes locking onto me, waiting for my response.

"Sahara is just a friend, I guess. We originally met soon after I originally arrived here in Pyrrhia, when I was forced to fight in Scarlet's arena. It wasn't the best introduction, and I originally thought I killed her with my lightning, but so did Scarlet and her guards, which gave her the chance to escape. We then met up a couple months after that, in which she repaid me for saving her life by helping Sunny and I in the Sandwing kingdom. Ever since, she's continued to work for Thorn, and we've talked a few times when I was there with the dragonets."

Asteroid nodded, seemingly pleased with my answer. Singularity seemed to let out a breath she had been holding for whatever reason, and Sara just kept walking, looking like she was lost in thought. I was curious what she was thinking about, so I spoke up. "Something on you mind Sara?" I asked her.

Sara looked up quickly, knocked out of her thought process, but quickly readjusted herself. "Not really," she said, shrugging. "I'm just thinking about the route we're going to take is all. We're probably going to have to find a few places to stop for more supplies along the way, since not only do I doubt our supplies will last for more than a couple months, but we'll also need supplies for anyone that joins us." 

"Already taken care of." I said, reaching behind me and into my bag, pulling out the map a moment later. "Like I've said, I'm trying to plan ahead as much as possible. I've marked down a few places we can stop by for resupplying, including a new town open to all dragon tribes that Sunny told me about called Possibility, which will be interesting to check out."

Sara took the map from me, looking over the map while we continued walking. As she did so, Singularity walked up beside me, signifying her presence by nudging me slightly with her wing. "So Jack, what exactly do you think we'll see on this adventure? I want to know so I can start getting excited to see everything now!"

I grinned, glad to see Singularity in such high spirits as usual. "Probably more than most dragons can ever say they've seen, that's for certain. We'll of course be traveling across the entire continent, exploring almost everything besides the Icewing kingdom, since we'd all freeze to death. Then we'll have to find a hidden sky tower, which is where Storm is hiding and waiting for our appearance."

Although Singularity seemed pleased with my response, Sara looked at me curiously while she put the map back in my bag. "So you know where we need to find Storm now? Some kind of hidden tower in the sky? How did you find out about that?" she asked.

 _"Oops."_ I thought to myself. _"I totally forgot that I learned about the tower through Asteroid's vision. I'm not exactly sure she wants to tell them about her powers, so I have to think up a reasonable excuse."_

Asteroid beat me to the answer though, speaking up before I could come up with a reply. "If you're going to panic that much Jack, I might as well tell them, since we're going to be traveling together for a while." She then turned to the now curious looking Sara and Singularity. "It would happen that unlike the rest of my tribe, I actually have both of the powers that Nightwings can have, both mind reading and visions of the future, though both have their downsides."

While Sara seemed mildly skeptical, Singularity seemed to be in a mild panic. "Wait, so you can read our minds, as in see our thoughts? And you've been doing it this whole time, hearing everything, even…" Singularity trailed off, her gaze falling over to me, making me tip my head in confusion.

Asteroid, however, was grinning. "Yes Singularity, even that. I wish I didn't read minds at times honestly though. I hear way more than I would like to, and I always get a large headache when I'm around large groups of dragons, such as when we were in the Rainwing village. Oh, and your secret is safe with me, don't worry." Singularity seemed relieved at this, meanwhile I continued to be confused while Sara shrugged, probably accepting the fact that in this strange world, there would at least be one dragon that can see the future and read minds.

"Wait, what secret? Are you hiding something Singularity?" I asked her, curious what they were talking about. Asteroid was still grinning as we walked, meanwhile Singularity was stammering and turning a bright pink all over. Due to this, I could make a mild guess what they were talking about, but still wasn't a hundred percent certain. "Eh, don't worry about it, as long as it doesn't harm us in the future, we should be fine."

Singularity let out a large sigh in relief as we finally reached the tunnel, where two Rainwing guards stood. They nodded at us before moving aside, already having been informed of our arrival. We passed by them and into the tunnel, the others noticeably shuddering as they entered, as I was the only one who had been through it enough times to get used to the odd feeling it let off.

After walking through the tunnel in silence for several minutes, each of us lost in thought and Asteroid giving an occasional burst of flame to light our way. Walking through this tunnel signified that there was no going back, and that we truly were starting our journey.

When we finally reached the other end, we had to dig for a few minutes to get out, due to how sand had once again blocked the exit. Once we were out, we stood in the desert, with the Sandwing kingdom in the distance.

We moved to go forwards, Asteroid and Sara both ready to get a move to shade in the dry heat, even though Singularity was heavily enjoying the extra sun. We opened our wings though, pushing ourselves into the air as we headed towards the kingdom.

Since a month prior, the kingdom was under renovation from when Burn had turned it into a fortress. All of the disembodied heads were gone, meanwhile deconstruction on the outer wall had begun, making the kingdom look more hospitable once more as Sandwings flew around it, all having destinations in mind as they worked.

As we neared the kingdom after a few minutes of flight, I told the others to stop as a group of Sandwing guards flew up to us, all of them bearing the mark of the Outclaws. I recognized one of them right away as Six Claws, who also seemed to recognize me as he approached.

"Static, long time no see. It's good to have you back in the Sandwing kingdom, and I see you brought others with you. I take it this is about that mission you're on that you mentioned to queen Thorn?" He asked.

I nodded. "It's good to see you again as well Six-Claws, and that's exactly what I'm here about. I'm hoping that Sahara hasn't changed her mind and is still willing to join me on my trip. Do you know where I could find her, by any chance?" I asked as Six Claws waved away the other Outclaws, the situation easily under control.

He shook his head. "I'm afraid not, but it shouldn't be too hard to find her. I'll send a messenger for her to see if she's available, meanwhile you can wait in the central courtyard for her."

I nodded, smiling at the hospitality. "Thank you. We'll be waiting for her there then. I really appreciate your help Six-Claws. I didn't exactly want to search the whole kingdom for her, especially since there are probably areas that I'm not allowed in."

"It's no problem, though really the only areas you wouldn't be allowed in is the treasure room, which is still pretty barren, what with the only treasure recovered being the bags that were with queen Oasis' skeleton, and the queen's private bedchambers, which I believe you have more sense than to go wandering in to. Anyway, I'll go get that messenger sent, and talk to you later."

I nodded and waved goodbye as Six-Claws flew off, meanwhile I led the others to the central courtyard, which I remembered as it was were I had nearly died to fire wounds more than a month back. Not exactly the most pleasant memories of a place (especially with the face that Asteroid was making), but it does help you remember where something specific is.

When we landed in the courtyard, we were given a few looks from passing Sandwings, but no one really paid us much mind. While Sara and Asteroid took cover in the nearby shade of a desert tree, Singularity made herself content as she laid on the ground, sighing in pleasure from the extra sunlight. I decided to leave her be, and thus went over to Sara and Asteroid to join them in the shade.

We waited anywhere from twenty to thirty minutes out there, talking amidst ourselves. We went over a few different topics, such as Sara wanting to be certain about Asteroid having powers. After that was proven with Asteroid telling Sara her current thoughts, we talked a bit about what I knew of the Sandwing kingdom.

With the time having passed, we were greeted by a flurry of wingbeats, and as I turned around to see who it was, I was tackled to the ground with sand flying into my face. "Static, it's good to see you again!" Sahara said from on top of me, not realizing she was making it hard for me to breath with my face pinned into the sand.

After a minute of me suffocating and Sahara probably being confused as to why I wasn't replying, Asteroid spoke up. "If you're waiting for him to answer, that's kind of difficult with his face buried in the sand, which is also preventing him from breathing."

While I was thankful for having a person that can read my mind at the time, Sahara started apologizing while getting off of me and pulling my head out of the sand. While I brushed the sand off of my snout, I looked over at Sahara. "It's good to see you as well Sahara. How have things been since I was last here?"

Sahara seemed to slump a bit at the question. "Not easy, unfortunately. We Outclaws have had a lot of work in the last month, and there's no sign of it slowing down anytime soon. Sure, we've all been doing our parts and contributing to the work, but there's still a lot more to do, especially with everything else that queen Thorn still has planned."

I nodded in understanding, knowing that even after a month, there would still be much to do for the new queen and those that worked for her. "Alright then. But how have you been doing? Do you think you'll still be able to take up my offer and join me on my trip?" I asked.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait for now." I heard from behind me. I turned around to find queen Thorn standing behind me, and I quickly bowed in surprise. "You know you don't have to bow to me Static, since I'm not your queen. How have you been since you and the dragonets were last here? And how's Sunny doing?" She asked as I got off of the ground.

"Everyone has been doing fine." I said. "Sunny and the others besides Glory are all still up at Jade mountain, and Sunny is doing well as she prepares to make a school out of the whole mountain. I'm sure she's already informed you of that though, but otherwise everyone is doing fine from when I last saw them a couple of days ago. Now, if you don't mind me asking, why can't Sahara join me on my trip currently? Is there an issue?"

Thorn nodded as Sahara walked up beside her. "Unfortunately, there is. Ever since the war ended, there have been an increasing number of reports of bandits in the desert that have been causing trouble for all dragons that cross them. I've had Sahara here looking into it for me with some of my other Outclaws, but so far they haven't been able to stop them. I'm afraid that until those bandits are caught, I can't let Sahara go anywhere, since I need every claw available to stop them."

Sahara looked disappointed at the fact that she couldn't join us, and I could tell that she wanted to, since I remembered that she still had to repay me for saving her life. I wasn't about to leave her behind, so I shook my head. "What if we were able to find these bandits and stop them?" I asked Thorn.

"Then she would be allowed to leave if she wanted to, since that's all I have her assigned to at the moment." Thorn explained. "But I'm not exactly certain about putting you into danger like this Static. You already did a lot for the dragonets, including my daughter, and this is more of a responsibility for me and my Outclaws. You should really leave the work to us."

I shook my head in disagreement. "I'm afraid I can't just sit back and not only wait for the bandits to be caught, but also for Sahara to be put in danger as well. I'm certain that with the rest of us," I said, gesturing to my group. "We can more than likely find these bandits and put a stop to them."

Thorn still looked uncertain, more than likely due to how she remembered how much Sunny seems to care for me, but sighed a moment later. "Alright, but just remember that this isn't your job and that you can stop at any time. And be sure to stay safe, because I know Sunny would be upset if she found out you got hurt."

"Don't worry, I have no plans of getting myself hurt again any time soon." I explained. "It was good to see you again Thorn, but it looks like I now have some bandits to stop."

"And it was good to see you as well Static." Thorn said. "Be sure to say hello to Sunny for me next time you see her. Now, I must get back to my duties as well. Sahara, I'm putting you in charge of informing them what we know of the bandits."

"Yes, queen Thorn." Sahara said as Thorn nodded before flying off. Once Thorn was gone, Sahara turned to me. "You really don't need to help me with this. I'm sure you can just come back for me later or find a different Sandwing to join you."

I shook my head. "No, I already said that I'm going to help you catch those bandits, and that's final. I still feel like I owe you this, with how much you want to join us and how you've saved my life in the past. I'm going to help you get this done, so why don't you start telling me what you know about the bandits?"

Sahara sighed before looking up at me. "You know that I owe you more than you owe me." She said. "But if you really feel that obligated to help, I guess I wouldn't mind a few extra talons helping. But is it just going to be just you helping, or is your group going to be aiding as well? I see you already have both a Rainwing and a Nightwing with you, along with your sister if I remember you telling me about her right."

I nodded as I looked to the others. Asteroid bobbed her head in agreement, while Sara gave me a thumbs up, signifying her aid as well. Singularity, after taking a moment to stretch from her brief nap, looked over and smiled before nodding, showing that everyone was on board. I looked back at Sahara and grinned. "It would appear that everyone is willing to help. So why don't you tell us a bit about these bandits?" I asked.

Sahara nodded while smiling, glad to see that we were all willing to help her get her job done so she could join us. "Alright, here's everything we know so far. They're a group of Sandwings, probably a division from Burn's former army, that have been attacking any small group of dragons that fly their way. They steal any valuables that the dragons have at hand, and if they don't have anything to be stolen, the bandits kill them."

"We can tell from the survivors that this is a group anywhere from five to ten dragons, who hit quick and hard, and only attack if they're certain there aren't and Sandwing guards around, which is the main problem with us catching them at the moment. We've managed to at least track them down to the North-Eastern part of the desert, since that's where the most travelers moving and thefts have occurred."

I nodded. "Alright, then our best bet would be to set a trap for them. If we made ourselves appear to be travelers, than we could wait and have Sandwing guards hide in the sand until they show up."

Sahara shook her head. "We've already tried that. We can guess that if a group of travelers stays in one place for too long, they grow suspicious of a trap, and they probably have a scout as well. Our best bet would be to find wherever they have set up their base, but we haven't been successful in finding it yet." Sahara explained, shaking her head.

I nodded, thinking for a second. "Alright, here's what we do then. We'll do a scouting trip today, and we'll all stay together that way if they do show up, they won't think of attacking us due to the size of our group, that is, if five is enough." Sahara nodded, confirming my suspicions. "Alright, we can take the next few days then to comb the desert for even a clue of their base's location. If we don't find anything, then we'll think of a new plan."

Sahara looked uncertain. "I'm not sure that is the best plan Static. No offense, but we've already spent days searching for these dragons, and still haven't found anything. What's going to change by us going instead of the normal guards?"

I grinned at Sahara. "They're expecting guards, not us. That's our advantage. And I already have an idea to find them. Do you happen to have a map of the desert by any chance?" I asked her.

Sahara looked confused for a moment before nodding. "Sure. I'll even get the one that I've been using to mark down the attack locations. Just give me a minute." With that, Sahara opened her wings before flying off. I turned back to the others, with Sara and Asteroid giving me odd looks.

Sara spoke first. "What did you mean by her saving your life Jack?" She asked. "Out of everything that you told me about, I don't remember you ever mentioning her saving you, unless something happened last time you were in the desert that you're not telling me about."

I looked away from Sara, since I never told her about the few times I came close to dying, including the one time I did die. "Let's just say that there was a Sandwing guard who seemed to think that his fire would look good on my face, and Sahara saved me from that." Sara didn't look pleased at my answer, but let it go for now as Asteroid began to speak up.

"So what exactly is your plan Jack?" She asked. "It's obvious you have more in mind besides combing the desert in mind. Why do you need the map of the desert to find them?" As Asteroid asked this, I pulled some string out from my bag, along with a few pins.

"I'm going to use an old strategy to try and find out where the bandits are hiding." I explained. "I'll show you what it is once Sahara gets back with the map." Right as I finished speaking, Sahara arrived, holding a map on a wooden slab that had several markers on it. As she put the map down, I saw that she was correct, and that several of the markers were in the Northeastern part of the desert.

I thanked Sahara as I began tying string to the pins on the map, much to the confusion of the others. I began attaching one pin to the next, until after several minutes all of the attacks were connected. Just as I had suspected, they all crossed over each other at one point, which, according to the map, was only a few minutes flight from it's nearest oasis, their source of water. I placed the pin on the map where every string intersected. "And that's the location of their base."

Sahara and Singularity were looking at the map, surprised, while Asteroid was nodding, showing how she was impressed. Sara was rolling her eyes, probably thinking I got this idea from a book or tv show, which I did. I was actually surprised it worked so well, and hoped that that was the actual base location.

Sahara, as if reading my thoughts, spoke up. "That's really impressive, but we should at least scout out the location before any squads are sent out after the bandits. We can leave now, if you want to."

I looked around at the others, who nodded in agreement of us leaving now, and I looked at Sahara. "Then let's go find us some bandits." And with that, Sahara nodded before opening her wings and taking to the sky, with the rest of us following behind her as she led us to the point on the map. While we flew, I looked over at everyone, grinning as the five of us took to the sky, fond memories returning to me of traveling with the dragonets.

Sahara caught my smile, but her face turned serious quickly. "Just remember Sta...Jack, if I remember you saying it right, we're on a mission with dragons that won't hesitate to kill any of us, so please be careful, alright? I wouldn't have to see you hurt, not like last time…" As Sahara said that, she clutched the necklace that she kept on her, the one I could thank for not being a severe burn victim….or worst.

I nodded as I bumped Sahara in the side while we continued flying. "I know, and I'm still on high alert as we travel, and once we get there i'll be more serious, but I just enjoy flying through a large open sky with my friends is all. It's...relaxing, in a way, to have such a vast, open plain available to you and your friends."

Sahara seemed to think for a second before smiling and nodding. "I think I can understand, and I'm glad that you enjoy flying so much. I do as well, and when I feel too stressed, I'll just take a break by taking a long flight through the sky. However, I never do it with any friends, and unfortunately that's how I got caught by Scarlet during the war. I haven't actually had any of my flights like that since, but now...I think I might do them again. Well, once we're done with this whole trip is all."

"I'd be happy to join you on your flights, if you don't mind the company." I said. "Personally, even though it's great to fly, I find flying alone too….quiet, and it's better to fly with others, even if no one is talking. Just the sounds of other wingbeats is nice to listen to. So, when this is all over, and if you don't mind, I'd be glad to join you on your flights."

Sahara was silent, and when I looked over at her, I thought I saw her blushing before she turned her head away from me. As I wondered what that was about, I swore I heard Asteroid groaning, and when I looked back, I saw her shaking her head in what seemed to be disappointment for some reason. Before I could ask, Sahara spoke up. "I'd like that." She said. "But we can talk later. For now, we've arrived at the point of the map, and I'm not seeing much."

We landed down onto the sand, in which I noticed we were in the center of where several sand dunes surrounded, putting us in some kind of sand crater. Looking around, the only thing that stood out from the sand was a single cactus that stood directly in the center of the crater.

While I looked around, Sahara brought out the map as the others surrounded her. As they looked closely at it, with questions as to if this was the right place and if I was wrong in my guess, I began to approach the cactus, wondering if it held some kind of clue.

Looking closely at the cactus, I could tell...it was an ordinary cactus. It stood a bit taller than me, and had several spines poking out all over it, with a single pink flower growing out of it. Nothing appeared strange about the cactus, and there wasn't anything that stood out. It was just a cactus.

While I pondered why a single cactus would be all the way out here, without any other cactus growing around it, the others approached behind me. While Sahara spoke out what I just said about there not being any other cactuses, since she saw the problem as well, Singularity stepped up to the cactus, before plucking the flower out from it.

Right as Singularity placed the flower behind her ear (which looked quite nice for her), we all stood still as the ground began to shake. We watched as a new flower grew out from where Singularity had grabbed it, and suddenly there wasn't anything beneath our feet as the ground opened up from beneath us.

We all cried out in surprise as we fell, none of us able to open our wings to stop our fall due to the sand falling above and onto our wings. And so, we fell, deep into the earth, and after a few seconds, the ground that we had fallen through closed above us, trapping us under the earth as we all continued to fall.

After what felt like minutes of just falling in the darkness, each of us shouting out for each other, we saw light from beneath us. Looking down, we could see a large blue pool from under us, and not even a minute later, we all landed in the water below, using our wings to slow us down enough to not kill us on impact.

After a minute of swishing around and bumping into each other confusedly, all of us emerged from the water. While the others spat out sand and water, trying to breath, I looked around.

We appeared to be in what could only be described as a tomb of sorts, reminding me of Egypt. However, looking around, it was obvious that others had been here lately, with supplies scattered about, along with bones from former meals. However, the final thing that stood out was a large flag hanging from the wall, depicting a flaming dragon skull being clutched by talons.

We had found the bandit's hideout, but now that we were in it, it was obvious we would soon be in trouble, with only the five of us with no reinforcements and no one else even knowing where we were. We were all alone, and would have to find our way out of here while dealing with the bandits.

I could only hope we would survive the experience.

 **Author's Note: Another week, another chapter. I'm glad that everyone is enjoying the story so far, and I've actually been reading up on some of your suggestions lately, and I'm going to try to use some of them soon. I'm glad you enjoy my last prophecy, which took me about twenty minutes of thinking of things that rhyme to create (should have just used google). But anyway, I'm glad that you are all enjoying the story so far, thank you all for your support, and as usual, the next chapter should be up next week on the usual day.**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

After having fallen for several minutes and having landed in a pool of water, I decided to check how everyone was doing. Looking around the dimly torch lit room, I could see the others around me coughing up water and shaking their heads. Other than being disoriented from the fall, everyone seemed to be alright.

"Is everybody alright?" I asked anyways, wanting to be certain that nobody was in any pain that I could see. While I asked that, I made my way forwards, that way I could lift myself up and onto dry land beside the pool.

"Well, other than having fallen for several minutes just to break our fall, we all seem to be fine." Sara said. "But still, that begs the question of how this place even exists, with it being so deep down here. Due to the fact that we fell for a few _minutes_ shows that we're hundreds of feet underground. How this place is standing is a mystery all of its own."

"I agree. I've never even heard of Sandwing ruins, especially none like this." Sahara said as she joined me on getting out of the pool, the others following as well (amazingly, I noticed that the cactus flower was still behind Singularity's ear somehow). With us all out of the pool, we looked around more closely at our surroundings.

Other than reminding me of desert tombs of Egypt, there wasn't that much that stood out in the room. The only noticeable features were the lit torches and the large flag, which I noticed was actually cut down the middle and covered a doorway.

Walking up to the flag, I looked over my shoulder to Sahara. "I think we might have found your bandits. It would actually make since of course, them being in a place so hidden, because it would explain how they've managed to stay unnoticed for so long. The only question I have is how they found this place in the first place."

Sahara walked towards the flag, glaring at it for a moment before replying. "Yes, this is their symbol. Every time we've found a place they've attacked, they always leave this flag in it's place, leaving their mark and telling us just who are attacking innocent dragons." As she finished, she spit out a burst of flame, which quickly took over the flag, burning it into ashes it seconds and revealing the other side to us.

Which just so happened to be a large, burly Sandwing who immediately jumped out at us.

As soon as I saw his scales on the other side, I jumped forwards, ramming Sahara out of the way. The large Sandwing passed us, but quickly shot his tail out at us. I twisted myself away quickly, not wanting to have to go through that experience again. As I did so, the Sandwing landed, but he corrected himself, quickly spinning around and charging at Asteroid, who was the farthest away from us.

Asteroid got into a combat position, ready to fight back against the Sandwing. However, as the Sandwing grinned and lifted up his tail, ready to strike, he suddenly flew backwards, with something hitting him hard in the nose. As the Sandwing shook his head, which now had some blood pouring out of it, he was hit by something in his lower jaw, sending him backwards once more.

While we all watched, the Sandwing tried to fight against his unknown assailant, flinging his tail in all directions, but he kept failing to hit while still managing to be punched every now and then. Eventually, the Sandwing fell to the ground, his face a mess with several bruises, in which Singularity appeared standing above him clutching her hands with a slightly pained expression. "Dang, it hurts a _lot_ to punch a Sandwing in the face. My claws are going to be sore for weeks."

I grinned while walking up to the Sandwing. "Nice job Singularity. He won't be waking up for a while by the looks of it. I have to say though, I'm definitely impressed with how hard a punch you can throw. I think some of his scales are actually dented."

While Singularity beamed happily at me for her praise, Sara walked up to the unconscious Sandwing, a length of rope from her bag in hand. Giving her a moment, the Sandwing was soon tied up, in which he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. I had to admit, being trained by an assassin definity had its perks by the looks of it.

"Well, now that he's all tied up, what do we do with him? We shouldn't just leave him out in the open like this, in case any other bandits walk in here and notice him." Asteroid said.

Sahara walked up while looking around, before pointing at a clutch of rocks. "We'll place him behind those rocks and leave him here for now. As soon as we get out of here I'm going to tell the guards about this place, and they'll be sure to deal with him and the rest of the bandits."

With us all in agreement, Sahara, Sara and I gathered around the Sandwing, taking the strength of all three of us to lift him from the ground and practically drag him behind the rocks. With that out of the way, and the fact that there weren't more bandits after us meaning we hadn't been discovered yet, we all gathered in front of the exit, and with no other way to go, we pressed forwards.

The exit was a passageway, large enough that two dragons could walk side by side and a third could glide over them. It was eerily blank, with only the occasional torch decorating the empty cave walls surrounding us.

We walked through in silence, none of us speaking in case there were any other bandits ahead, since we wanted to keep the element of surprise for as long as possible. If I had to guess, that Sandwing was probably sent to see why the door we entered through entered, or was just taking a walk to the pool for some reason.

After walking for a short time, we began walking up to a well lit up area. Whispering to the others to slow down, I edged closer to the doorway, looking out carefully to see what was ahead. In front of us was a large open room, however, with it's odd flooring with each tile being at a different height on the ground, dragon skulls on the sides in nice rows with their mouths open like they were about to breath fire, and a roof that had holes in it that looked like it could release spikes and lower to the ground, I could only guess that the room was trapped.

The others joined me in staring at the room, wondering just how we were going to get across. "I have to admit, they definitely went above and beyond with trapping this room, other than the fact that it's plainly obvious that it's trapped. Any suggestions on how we get across?"

"Well, you see Jack, we have several options to choose from." Sara said enthusiastically. "We could just walk slowly, testing each tile before making a step, or we could throw rocks into the room and set the traps off beforehand, then walk across after they're set off, or the easiest and most practical solution…we could just fly across?" Sara said blankly.

I blinked, thinking for a moment and looking at the room in realization before slowly facepalming. "Yeah, that would probably be our best bet." I said, opening my wings. As I flew into the room, gaining altitude into it and flying to the other side, the others soon joined me. It didn't take long before we were at the other side, in which I landed into the next tunnel, which was the same as the last one.

Once everyone was across, I could only stare at the trapped room and wonder if anyone was ever dumb enough to set it off before walking forwards once more. "So why do you think that room was built in such a way that anyone could just fly across and not get hurt?" Singularity asked.

"One of two options, I believe." I said as we continued moving. "Either it was built with flight not in mind or was a trap built for idiots, or it was created to keep those who can't fly out, like scavengers." I explained. "It would make the most sense, but honestly I still don't even know how this tomb was built, let alone who built it."

With many questions still on our minds, we pressed forwards once more. However, we once more were soon faced with a larger room, however, this time we could hear commotion and other dragons on the other side. Carefully peaking into the room, I could see that it was a very large chamber, and that there were several dragons in it.

There had to be around twelve Sandwings in the large room, which was shaped like a spear, with large sandstone columns rising from the ground and supporting the roof. They were all standing about, doing their own things in separate areas, anywhere from examining treasure to sharpening wicked looking daggers. However, there was one Sandwing that stood out from the rest.

Sitting on a throne made of what looked like marble was a heavily scarred Sandwing, who was at the time was caressing a skull while watching the other Sanwings. An actual dragon skull. And he was caressing it.

This place gets stranger and stranger at times while still managing to find new forms of terror, since him caressing that skull was really unnerving.

Anyway, this dragon wasn't the largest, but he was obviously a heavy fighter. Scars crossed across him everywhere, from fire burns on his sides to tears in his wings, along with a nasty scar that went across his right eye and all the way down his throat. However, he looked constantly on edge, and was probably ready to fight at a moment's notice.

With the room examined, I motioned everyone back, not wanting us to be noticed as of yet. When everyone was a good distance back and I was certain we weren't spotted and wouldn't be heard, I turned to the others. "Well, there's about twelve of them in all, and that one on the throne looks to be their leader, and with that for a reason. Any suggestions?"

Singularity was the first to speak up. "I could go ahead and try to find the way out, then we could try and sneak out and get the guards so we don't have to fight them."

I shook my head. "I don't want anyone going alone, since we don't know if there are any other traps and I don't think any of us will be sneaking past their leader, even with camouflage scales. Anyone else?"

Sahara spoke up next. "We could try to fight them. If we rushed them quickly, we'd have the element of surprise on our hands, along with being able to take a few of them down before they have time to react. However, that does still leave the problem with the leader."

I nodded in agreement while Asteroid spoke up. "We won't have the element of surprise for long, I'm afraid. From what I heard, many of them are on edge due to how that Sandwing from before hasn't come back yet. They're on edge and are expecting something, so we have to plan this carefully."

While everyone was speaking, Sara looked to be deep in thought. When Asteroid was finished, I looked to her. "What do you think Sara? Do you have an idea?"

She nodded before turning to Singularity. "Did you bring your sleep darts with you?" She asked. Singularity nodded, turning around and bringing forth the blowgun and darts that she was used to using. "Alright, here's my idea. If you can go in camouflaged and shoot as many darts as possible, starting with the leader, we can charge in and distract the rest while you continue shooting darts from the sidelines."

I was a bit uncertain of the plan, not wanting Singularity in the middle of the fight, but knew it was our best bet. "Alright Singularity, here's the plan then. You're going to go in and find the darkest place with the best angle of the whole place, which I think would be on top of one of the pillars. Once you are there and ready, think of a signal you can use to alert Asteroid. When you do, we'll charge in and you begin shooting darts, alright?"

Sahara looked a tad confused at the signal part, since we haven't told her about Asteroid's powers, but everyone nodded. With the plan set, Singularity vanished into thin air, her dart satchel and blowgun hidden under her wing.

After a couple of minutes in which we moved closer to the room, Asteroid nodded, saying the Singularity was ready. With that, I led the charge, bursting forth into the room to the surprise of the Sandwing bandits.

As a few got up to fight us, it was too late for the closest two near the entrance, in which Sara and I quickly breathed out bursts of lightning, making the two spasm for a moment before falling to the ground. However, we were quickly surrounded, the four of us being circled by seven Sandwings, with three other Sandwings fast asleep on the ground.

The leader was not one of them, and he looked mad as he pulled a fast paced serpentine maneuver towards us, dodging left to right towards our group as darts landed around him. I put myself in his direction as I yelled up into the room. "Start shooting at the grunts, the leader is too fast."

After I yelled that, the leader shouted in a gruff, older voice at his bandits. "Start moving you sand for brains, they have someone using sleep darts!" The bandit's followed his order, however two more had fallen, leaving five left, including the leader.

I began to square off with the leader, who was still moving quickly, making me have to jump around quickly and avoid his fast moving tail, which kept striking out for me with it's poisonous barb. "I don't know who you dragons are, or how you found this place, by I will enjoy ripping your skulls from you necks and digging my claws into the empty sockets!"

Jumping back quickly, I checked to see how everyone else was doing. Sahara was currently wrestling with another Sandwing, pinning him to the ground. Meanwhile, Sara was making quick jabs at another Sandwing, who at the same time was trying to swing a nasty dagger at her.

Everyone appeared to be doing well until I looked over at Asteroid, who was being ganged up on by the last two Sandwings. They had managed to corner her, and one was about to breath fire while the other one was ready to pounce at her if she tried to get out of the way. However, before the fire could be released, Singularity appeared as a streak of red, pouncing and landing on top of the Sandwing and jabbing a dart into his neck. While the other one was distracted, Asteroid jumped forward, knocking him to the ground.

With everyone doing well, I focused back at my task at hand. The leader was still attempting to stab me with his tail, and I kept on having to move faster and faster as he tried using his claws on me as well. I tried to use my breath several times, but he was always ready and was able to dodge out of the way before attacking me once more.

It was obvious he was more experienced than me at this point, and was even grinning as I guessed he was toying with me before he decided to kill me. I was hoping I could distract him long enough for the others to get to me, but it seemed he either guessed this or was done toying with me as he spend up his attacks, and I was unable to dodge a few of him scratches from his claws.

Finally, with no other ideas, I jumped back and opened my wings. He grinned as he darted forwards, now that I was a larger target. However, I let down my wings quickly, blowing sand that was on the ground straight at him. It only made him finish for a second, but that was long enough as I breathed my final torrent of lightning at him.

However, he must have heard it, and thus jumped back away from the lightning before any of it could hit him. Unfortunately for him, standing behind him grinning was a newly appeared Rainwing, who jabbed two darts (for safe measure) into him before jumping back as his tail swept the area in retaliation.

If he looked upset before, he looked upset now as he ripped out the darts and was surrounded by our group. "You horrible dragons, I knew I shouldn't have taken this base from that cloaked figure. When I wake up, even if I'm in jail, I'll get out, and when I do, I'll find each and every last one of you, and I'll have your skulls. Just...you….wait…." And with that, he slumped to the ground, the sleep darts taking their toll.

With all of us standing over him, and the fact that we actually won in odds of two to one, I looked at the others. "Well, that was threatening and creepy enough that it'll probably haunt my dreams for a bit." That got a few grins and nods in agreement as Sara went to where we had been hiding and grabbed her bags.

After a moment, she brought out a length of rope, and the rest of us agreed in her plan, getting our rope as well. After several minutes of finding all of the bandits and making sure they were all securely tied up, we stood in the large room ready to go once more.

"I don't know." Sahara spoke up as we looked for the exit. "It's just, for a group of bandits that have escaped capture for so long and taken so many lives, I just feel like that was too easy." She explained as we finally found a set of wide winding stairs that led upwards.

Sara shrugged and proceeded to explain her theory. "Well, if I had to guess, their success probably came from overwhelming numbers and how hidden their base was. After all, you yourself said they would only hunt small groups of travelers, and were gone without any clues as to where their base was. They had the advantage of numbers and surprise, that's all."

I nodded in agreement, though I also had to agree with Sahara. Personally, I thought they would all be as difficult to fight as the leader, and that the leader would be even worse than he was. But then again, I wasn't going to complain, especially since I was still pretty scratched up, and I wasn't the only one. The only one who didn't have a single injury was Singularity, and that was due to her being hidden the whole time.

If this was the results of our first fight and our third of seven new additions to our party, I could only wonder how we would all be looking by the time we found the sky tower, especially if we had to fight every time we had someone join us.

I hoped that wouldn't be the case.

 _Meanwhile, several months in the future, standing before the hidden tower in the sky…_

We finally stood before the tower, and even though we all had great rest, several of us were still looking worse for wear, especially Rivlet, who was still recovering from that Sandwing sting, and Frostbite was still having a few issues getting his balance right with flying with the burn on his tail.

It had been a difficult journey to get to this point, but we had finally reached our destination. With the door open, we stepped forwards, for better or for worse, and though we were heavily beaten, we weren't going to stop. Not when we were this close.

I just hoped I wasn't leading everyone to their deaths.

 _Meanwhile, in the present, back in the Sandwing Kingdom…_

After climbing stairs for what felt like several hours but was probably a single one at most, we finally reached the the top of the door that led to the surface. However, upon opening said door, we were immediately greeted by the desert sand which quickly made its way down upon us. After digging ourselves out of the sand and closing the exit behind us, we began making our way back to the Sandwing Kingdom.

Once there, Sahara had us all flown to the infirmary while she went to report in our findings, but not before promising that she would come back and get cleaned up as well once she was certain that guards were on their way to the secret hideout.

After a while, she did eventually come back and join our group, along with Queen Thorn. She greeted all of us with thanks for our help, and, once all of the bandits were accounted for and put into the prison, Sahara would be allowed to join us on our journey. She would also allow us to rest up for a day or two to fully recover and make sure we were ready to continue when we were ready.

At that point, it was nearing nightfall, and thus, with us all patched up and covered in bandages and having been given the cactus juice in case we had any stinger cuts, we all went to the rooms we were given to use. I waved to the others, a grin on my face since everyone was still safe as we parted for the night.

I went over to dragon bed, laying down onto it and fully realizing how long a day I had just experienced. With a sigh in relief, I closed my eyes, easily greeting sleep, knowing I would be more than eager to have a day of rest tomorrow.

After a long and refreshing sleep, I was woken up to a light shaking. Blinking my tired eyes open, I saw that Sahara was standing over me, a concerned look on her face. Shaking the sleep away, I spoke as I rubbed my eyes. "What's happened or happening?" I asked, ready now that I knew something was up.

Sahara sighed. "We have to talk about a few things." She said. I nodded as she sat down, urging her to go on. After a moment, she did. "First of all, I just got my report from the guards. They've brought back the bandits and have their base secured, but there's a problem."

"If I had to guess, the leader was gone, the only thing in his place a length of rope." Due to Sahara's startled expression, I sighed as she nodded. "I was hoping that wasn't going to happen, but then again, he was the leader of those bandits for a reason, I suppose."

Sahara nodded sadly. "That's not all, of course. He left a note in the blood of the dragon that we first dealt with, most likely due to how he was the first to fail. He not only wants us dead Jack, he wants _you_ dead. He was quite specific about how he was going to use your skull as a bowl for his soup."

I went to sigh once more, but knew that this was inevitable, and thus stopped myself. "Alright, we'll have to be more careful during our travels then, since now we have a mad dragon on the loose looking to add my skull to his creepy collection. We'll be sure to have lookout shifts at night to keep everyone safe. Was there anything else?" I asked, knowing I'd have to write down new plans for the trip now that we had a mad killer after us.

At this, Sahara looked away, looking uncertain about what to say next. "Yes, I was just curious about a few things with our trip is all." She explained, finally looking at me again.

I nodded as I began pulling my map and notes out. "Alright, is there anything specific you wanted to know about? I have the entire route we're going to take, along with a few areas where we can stop for information and supplies."

Sahara began looking over the maps, along with my list of dragon candidates to join us on our trip, which was only about half full. "If you don't mind me making a suggestion," Sahara said, "I might know a Icewing that could join us, though I don't know where he is now, if he's even still alive that is."

I looked over at her in interest. "Oh? I'm open to suggestions right now, and I figured that the Icewing would be the hardest member to find. Who do you have in mind?" I asked.

"His name was Frostbite. I worked with him occasionally up in Blaze's fortress, back when I was still working for her in the war. He was extremely reserved and prefered to work and get things done by himself, but he always did manage to get anything he set his mind on done. Even though he prefered doing things himself, he was still willing to work with others, and was a great ally."

I nodded, knowing that he sounded like a good candidate for us. "Alright, well I'd be happy to meet him one day. He definitely sounds like he'd be a good choice to join us. I think I might know of a way to find him, so I'll do some research today. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

At this, Sahara once more looked away before talking a bit uncertainty, which was a bit strange for her. "Um, yeah, if you don't mind me asking, what's your current relationship with the Rainwing, Singularity? Are you just close friends or…" she trailed off, making me wonder what she was talking about, though I had some suspicion.

However, her question did make me have to think for a moment. What was my current relationship with Singularity? We had been through alot in such a short time, and I felt close enough to her that I could tell her something I wasn't even willing to tell my sister yet, and had shared many great moments with her.

I shrugged uncertainty. "I don't know. Currently, as far as I know, we're just close friends is all. Why? Is there something that's bothering you?" I asked, wondering why she brought this up.

Once more, I was reminded that dragons could blush as Sahara's face lit up with a bit of red. "N..no reason. I was just curious is all. You know, so that I could be aware if there was anything I needed to know about, that's all." As she said this, I saw her hands reach up to her chest, one fingering the necklace and the other resting on her scar, something I hadn't noticed her doing a few times when she was around me.

I looked at her curiously for a second before responding. "Alright I guess. Just, if there's anything you need to talk to me about, be sure to speak up, alright? I'll always be here for you, so don't work yourself up, okay?"

At that, her blush seemed to heat up a little bit more as she mumbled to herself, though I could only hear what sounded like, "part of the problem". However, before I could ask what she had said, she turned to me with a grin, her blush gone. "Thanks Jack, I'll be sure to do that. That's all I have for now, so if you need me I'm going to make sure I have everything ready for the trip. Everyone else is either in their rooms or roaming the castle, so be sure to go and do whatever you need to get done today."

Sahara got up to leave, but not before quickly hugging me with her wing, leaving me slightly more confused as to what just happened. I was also certain that I heard Asteroid in the next room over laughing about something, so I made a note to ask her about it later, in which she peaked around the corner, telling me not to bother with it before she left.

I sighed and shook my head, another normal and crazy day having begun as usual.

 **Author's Note: I really must apologize once more that this chapter was so late, especially since I wasn't able to make it an extended chapter like I had planned. I am literally writing this as fast as I can so I can at least get it out today, since I've had no time to work on it with my life having been so busy lately. The business should stop in a few weeks, but until then I'm going to try to get these chapters out on time if I can. Anyhow, thank you all so much for your support, and especially your understanding. I don't have much self esteem, and I always worry about messing up, and your supportive and understanding comments helped me to get this done when I was able to. Anyway, thank you all so so much, and hopefully the next chapter will be up next week. (Also, wow, 30 whole chapters, woot!)**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Having been awakened by Sahara and with the whole day ahead of me to prepare for the trip, I decided it was time to leave my room and get some preparations out of the way. I first had to go over all of my supplies and then go over my map and my plans on what to do next, though I still remembered it anyway since I had already looked at the map this morning. Ah well, never hurts to double check, after all.

After going through all of my supplies and realizing the only thing I would need is more rope, since that was the only thing I had used recently, I decided to pull out my maps. After pulling them out and looking over them, I came to the conclusion that there would be a mild problem with the next part of our trip.

Our next stop was to be the Seawing Kingdom so we could find Tempest and ask her if she wanted to join us, and if not her, then if she had any recommendations for someone else to bring along. However, with the Summer Palace having been destroyed, that meant the only place the Seawings could be was their normal palace.

Which was underwater. And none of us could breath underwater.

As I sighed and facepalmed, wondering why I hadn't considered this before, I began thinking of possible solutions to this problem. We had several options, of course, but they were either uncertain or were time consuming. I first was going to ask Thorn if she knew if there were any Seawings that stayed above the water as lookouts or messengers. If that didn't work, then we would have to ask Tsunami for help, but that would involve flying all the way to Jade Mountain, which would take some time.

Sighing, I got up and put my maps away, hoping that there would be some scouts outside of the ocean that would be able to carry a message out for us. If Thorn didn't know, we could just fly there and go to the ruins of the Summer Palace and hope that someone would be there, but that would still take time, especially if no one was there.

With my supplies having been repacked, I left them beside the door as I headed out. I decided now I had one of four things I could do. I could either find some new rope, try to find Thorn, try to find the person I had in mind that might know about the Icewings that worked for her (which was a trip I wasn't looking forwards to), and find my friends and make sure they were all ready to go.

Now that I knew what I had to do today, I began walking around the palace, waiting until I saw a guard or someone else that could help me complete any of my four tasks. After walking for a bit, I finally came across a Sandwing guard who was doing his normal patrols. I walked up to him as he nodded at me.

"Excuse me, but do you know where I can get some rope? I need to replace the rope I used up yesterday from my supplies." At his questioning look, I sighed and explained. "I used my old rope to tie up a bunch of bandits yesterday and I never got it back. If you don't know that, do you at least know where queen Thorn is? I need to talk to her as well."

The guard shrugged as he answered me. "I don't know where the queen currently is, but I do know that your rope is probably down in the prison cells. Follow me." With that, the guard began walking off, in which I began to follow.

After walking for a bit, we finally came to a set of stairs. Once we were there, the guard nodded towards me before walking off, his work done. After wondering why he wasn't going to follow me down there for a moment, I shrugged before heading down.

It was dark down in the prison cells, with only the occasional torch to light up the stone walls. After walking for a minute, I began to hear what sounded like wails and screams, in which I was not only disturbed, but I also realized why that guard didn't want to come down here.

Once I made it all the way down, I saw that It was like a normal prison, with cells lining alongside each other on both sides of the room. The wails were coming down a ways from an unlit cell, but that wasn't what was currently getting my attention. At that moment, I could only focus on eleven sets of eyes as they stared me down in silence, pure hatred emanating from them.

I shivered for a moment before noticing my rope laying on the ground in front of me, alongside the other ropes used to tie the bandits up, which were probably my friend's ropes,, along with the rope we used that we found around the bandit camp.

After a moment of standing there and just staring at the eyes, I slowly bent down and picked up a length of rope, rolling it up tightly so I could pack it away, never taking my eyes away from the prisoners, who were doing the same.

After a few minutes, I finally had five sets of rope, one set for each of us, and I slowly began to walk away, the eyes never leaving me as I slowly made my way back up the stairs. Even when they were out of sight, I still kept my gaze down the stairs, still unnerved by what had just happened.

When I was fully back up the stairs, I finally turned around, taking a minute to shiver, and then going back to rooms we had been given to use. Once there, I dropped off a set of rope in each room, noticing everyone was gone like Sahara had said. After doing that, I went into my room real quick, placing the rope away before leaving.

With one of my tasks complete, and still no sign of anyone else I needed to talk to, I began to walk around the palace once more, though this time I was just looking for anyone I recognized as I aimlessly wandered about.

After a bit of walking, I finally came across the large courtyard, in which I also managed to find Sahara talking to Thorn in front of the fountain in the center. As I walked up, I saw that they were talking to each other, though I couldn't hear them. After a moment, Sahara nodded, smiling before bowing, in which she then got up and opened her wings, flying off without noticing me.

As I finally reached Thorn, I decided to speak up. "So what were you and Sahara talking about just now, if you don't mind me asking?" I said, moving alongside the fountain in front of her.

Thorn smiled softly as she responded. "Oh, she just wanted some advice concerning your trip is all, and was also telling me about how you plan on leaving tomorrow with your new safety measures against that bandit leader."

I nodded, my face grimacing for a moment as I remembered the leader. I still wasn't exactly excited that there was a crazy murderous dragon after me, but it wasn't the first time, so that made me feel slightly better, even if I was just a secondary target at the time compared to the dragonets.

"Alright then. I do have a question for you though about the next length of my journey, if you don't mind." She nodded, allowing me to continue speaking. "Alright, do you know if there would be any way for me to contact the Seawings? With their Summer Palace destroyed, there isn't much of a way for me to contact them without another Seawing."

Thorn nodded. "Yes, there is. They always have guards patrolling the islands, along with messengers who stay at the Summer Palace ruins in case a message needs to be sent to them. It shouldn't be too difficult for you to find a Seawing that way, especially if you already have one in mind."

I grinned. "I do in fact already have someone in mind. She was a great friend during the time the dragonets and I spent in the Summer Palace, even if she is a bit out there at times. Though, with how our group already is, she should fit in just fine."

Thorn smiled at that. "Yes, you have certainly created a strange group of allies for sure. Your sister, another member of the strange unknown dragon tribe, a Nightwing that seems mysterious, as if she does in fact have the old powers, a happy but serious Rainwing, and now a Sandwing who is always willing to jump into a fight to protect others. Quite the group you've made Static."

"And I still have yet to get about four more members." I said. "Thinking about it now, our group is going to be easily noticed while we're flying around, since we're going to have nine dragons, all but two of which being of different tribes. This shouldn't be problematic though, except for the fact it will make finding us easier for that bandit leader."

"Yes, and I do advise that you be wary in your travels with him after you. Even after having been identified, we still have no records of the dragon in question, showing that he was a master of his craft. It certainly was surprising that you managed to defeat him so easily."

"Anyhow, there is another thing I would like to talk to you about your journey Static." Thorn said. "I wanted to ask you if you are getting to know the dragons you are surrounding yourself with. How much do you truly know about them? How long did you take to talk to them before deciding to take them along with you on your journey?"

I went to answer her, certain that I knew everyone well and that everything would be fine. However, before I could answer her, I stopped myself and truly thought about her question. How much _did_ I know everyone.

Singularity and Sara I would say I knew quite well, however I didn't know everything about Singularity's past and what Sara went through during her time working for Blister. Sahara I knew was grateful to me for saving her life and choosing to leave the war, though I didn't really know anything about her past other than the fact that she worked for Blaze, the least hostile of the three sisters. And then there was Asteroid.

Asteroid, at this point, was a mystery. All I knew about her was that she was never part of the Nightwing tribe and was raised with her sister alone in the desert by an unknown Sandwing. However, she had proven that she was on our side, having been willing to trust me and risk blowing up the cave for us to escape, but then again, there was still much I didn't know about her.

I sighed, realizing Thorn was right. "I guess I don't know all of them as well as I'd hope." I replied. "I'll see if I can't get them to open up a bit during our trip though, since it will take us a few days to get to the Seawing Kingdom, after all."

Thorn nodded. "Alright, but I do advise that you get to know the dragons you surround yourself with _before_ taking them along with you, especially on an important and long trip such as yours. Which raises my next question about the specifics of what your trip is about anyhow. I only know that it is important that you get it done."

I made an apologetic expression before replying. "I'm afraid I can't answer that, since I don't want word getting out for a few different reasons. Even to someone such as yourself, I'm afraid I can't tell you what I'm doing other than the fact that a lot is at stake." This was all true, after all, since I could only imagine what would happen if the world found out that right after the war had ended, there was already a new threat right over the horizon that only I could stop.

Thorn nodded understandingly. "That is alright. If you really believe that, than I am alright with not knowing the specifics of the trip. However, if you ever need any help, you are more than welcome here in my kingdom."

I smiled, glad that Thorn would be willing to aid me if I needed it, though I could only guess it partly had to due with the fact that I kept Sunny safe for her. "There is actually something I could use your help with, actually." I said, though I was not looking forward to this conversation if the outcome was what I was expecting.

"Oh, and what do you need?" Thorn asked me, curious what I could need from her.

"I would like to know if Blaze ever had any records of the Icewings that worked for her, or if there would be some way of knowing where any of the Icewings would be right now." After that, I sighed, dreading this next part. "And if you don't, I would like to know if you know where Blaze is."

Thorn grimaced slightly, understanding my feelings towards Blaze. I had talked to her a little bit after the war had officially ended, in which I had a headache after about two minutes of talking to her, in which she commented on how dull my scales were, and how her scales were so pristine, even though she did thank me for saving her from Deathbringer's knife disc, even though the only reason she was grateful was since her scales had remained pristine and un-scarred.

"No, I don't know if there were any records of the Icewing guards, though to my knowledge few ever came to the fort where Blaze hid at anyway. However, I do know that most of the Icewings went back to their kingdom after the war, though a few are still around different areas to the north in case we ever need to send a message to queen Glacier. And with Blaze, neither do I know where she is or do I think she would know anything about the Icewing guards besides how sparkly their scales were."

I nodded, expecting as much, though I was slightly thankful I wouldn't have to have a conversation with Blaze now. However, this did leave the problem of not having any way of finding the Icewing that Sahara had mentioned. "Alright, thanks anyway." I replied.

"I can still get you the locations of the messengers, if you want." Thorn said. "You might find it useful if you ever need to send a message to the Icewings during you adventure, for whatever reason."

Thinking for a second, I decided to agree, thinking that the map would be useful later, especially in finding the Icewing that would join us later on, though I had already planned to make the Icewing the final edition to our group anyway, so this worked with our schedule at least.

With that, Thorn parted, saying that she would have the map delivered to my room as soon as a copy was made. With that out of the way, and the only thing left to do for the day being to find and talk to everyone to ensure they were ready for tomorrow, I decided I would go find something to eat first, since it was around noon at that time.

After having eaten from food provided in the castle, I roamed a bit, eventually finding everyone at different points and talking to them, making sure they were ready. Singularity was the easiest, since I found her as she was ending her sun time in the middle of the courtyard. Sahara was next, as I found her doing stretches and training in a guard courtyard. Next was Asteroid, in which I found her on top of a large tower, staring off into the desert, lost in her thoughts (I left her alone, deciding to let her think for a bit and that I would talk to her later).

Finally, with the sun just beginning to set upon the horizon, I found Sara back in her room, looking over her equipment. After a second, I knocked on the side of her door to get her attention, in which she looked up and, seeing it was me, went back to looking at her stuff before saying "Come in."

As I entered, I thought back to what Thorn had spoken to me about, and I decided to talk to Sara. "Hey, Sara, if you don't mind me asking, would you like to talk about some things?" I asked, getting her attention.

After a second, she stopped what she was doing, nodding before looking at me. "Alright, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" She asked, looking curious as to what I had to say.

With my many dialogue options presented before me, I decided to go with the most obvious one. "Look, I've gotten to thinking about a lot, and I've realized that even though I told you everything that had happened since I've gotten here, you haven't told me anything that you've gone through other than the fact that you were tricked into working for Blister and were trained by an assassin."

Sara nodded. "Yes, and I'd rather not talk about it. After everything you've gone through, you shouldn't have to worry about me or how I'm doing. If you're worried, don't be, I'm fine."

I shook my head. "As your brother, it's my job to be worried about you. Besides, ever since we've gotten back together, you seem...I don't know, I guess less involved would be a good way to put it. You been quieter, and have been watching everything carefully from what I've noticed, as if your watching out for something. What happened at Blister's camp Sara?"

For a moment, Sara looked prehensive and was going to answer. She opened her mouth, but quickly closed it before shaking her head. "No, you don't need to know. I'm fine though Jack." She said, giving me a sincere look. "It wasn't anything I couldn't handle, so don't worry. Sure, I might have picked up a habit or two, but I'm sure that spending more time with you and everyone else will make me go back to normal."

I looked at Sara concerningly. I could always tell whenever she was lying, and I knew as soon as she said she was fine that she wasn't. Something had happened to her, something she didn't want to talk about, and that something involved Blister's camp and, more than likely, her assassin training.

However, I could also see the expression on her face, and I also knew that she was determined not to tell me what was wrong, probably due to how she probably didn't want me to worry (which was just making me worry more actually). But since I wouldn't be getting an answer out of her, I sighed and smiled softly at her. "Alright, if you say so. But if you ever feel the need to talk, just ask, okay?"

She smiled back at me, thinking she had gotten away with this topic. "Don't worry Jack, if I ever feel like I need to talk about what happened, you'll be the first to know. Now, if you don't mind me, I want to make sure that I have everything ready for tomorrow."

"Yes, I better get to that as well." I agreed, in which I made my way towards the door. "Talk to you later Sara."Sara said goodbye, and thus I began to walk away, concerned thoughts on my mind as I made my way back to my room.

Analyzing our conversation, I could tell that Pyrrhia had had some form of impact on Sara, and that was probably due to how at the time, thanks to the war, violence was more accepted, and thus Sara was able to fight more. This, mixed with being trained by an assassin (along with whatever had happened back at Blister's camp), was obviously having a bad result with Sara, who thus was becoming more paranoid and ready to spring into action.

I sighed as a stray thought crept into my thoughts, and I realized something at that moment. Not only was I planning on staying, but I knew that I couldn't allow Sara to stay with me, though I knew she would do anything and everything to stay with me, if her coming after me herself was any proof. Thus, with this thought in mind, I knew that the saddest action I would ever partake in would be evident in my future (if I succeeded, of course).

I would have to say goodbye to Sara. Forever.

I pushed the thought aside, not wanting to think about it for long. I knew it would happen though, and I knew it was for both of our own goods. I needed to stay here, and she needed to go back. I could only imagine what would happen to Sara if she stayed here for too was something I didn't want to think about, especially with how this place had changed her already, in just the course of a few months.

 _Several months in the future, in a place unknown, from the perspective of Sara…_

I didn't want to believe it, and yet, the evidence was all around me. I fell to the ground, tears falling from my face. No, it couldn't be possible, and yet, as I crawled forwards towards him, I knew it was.

I clutched my brother's face in my blood stained claws, the tears coming out faster now. He wasn't breathing, nor would he ever breathe again. I slammed my eyes closed, knowing that if I was to open them, I would just see more bodies, the rest being of the dragons I had come to know as my friends in our time together.

Everyone was dead. And I had killed them.

 _Meanwhile, back in the present, the morning of the next day…_

We stood in the courtyard the next morning, a few of us still yawning as we had just woken up a little while ago. As to my plan, I wanted us to leave early, that way we would have the whole day to travel at our own pace, and would possible be able to get a good way into our trip. However, it was still going to take us about a week and a half to reach our destination, but I still figured it would be nice of us to get a good start.

I was mildly regretting that decision as I blinked my eyes open as the morning desert sun greeted us. However, we all all already awake, and with everyone ready to go and everything set, we opened our wings and took off into the sky, the next part of our journey having begun.

At first, due to how it was still early, we didn't talk much, and the most exciting actions were that of Singularity, who was flying around the sky in excitement at the aspect of getting to finally see the sea. In her excitement, her scales were a deep blue, making her resemble the ocean itself, with a sandy tan in her under scales like the beach, though there was a bit of yellow of excitement peaking through.

After a while, we finally began talking to each other, with Asteroid actually speaking up first. "So, if I heard you correctly yesterday, you said that you wanted to know more about me?" She asked as she flew up to me.

After shaking off my mild confusion as to how she knew (and then remembering she could read minds, which made her roll her eyes), I nodded. "Yes, I would. All I really know is that you were raised in isolation, you have a sister you're looking for, and you like the night sky. Oh, and that you have the lost Nightwing powers of course."

She smiled at the fact that I had included that last, as if it actually didn't matter that much. "Yes, that is true, and I believe that is due to how I haven't been very open about myself. But then again, I'm not exactly all that used to talking to other dragons either, with my only conversations being with my sister, the Sandwing that raised us, and yelling unpleasantries at dragons that were chasing us while yelling death threats. So, if there is anything you would like to know, ask away."

"Thanks for being so open about it, I guess." I said while thinking about what I should ask her. "I guess I'll go with a simple question that could mean a lot then. How do you feel about fighting others?" I asked, knowing I should have asked this before I sent her headfirst into that fight the other day against the bandits.

She waved off my thought though. "Don't worry about it. I'm perfectly fine with defending myself and fighting against others if they need to be stopped, however I do know my limits, and thus I won't fight a dragon I do not believe I can't beat. Also, unlike what many dragons think, I don't rely on my powers in battle, due to how they're too unreliable at times."

I nodded, glad to hear that. And so that is how we spent the next hour or two, talking about Asteroid and her past. Like me, she was heavily bonded with her sister, and she also had an interest in learning more about other dragons, though she would rather do it without having to actually engage them in conversation.

Once we were done, we landed at a small lake and took the time to take a break. While the others went and hunted fish, I rested my wings, taking a good moment to relax. Nothing of interest happened during that stop, nor the rest of that day. As a matter of fact, the whole trip to the sea was pretty calm.

Over the trip, I went from dragon to dragon, getting to know more about each of them, as per Thorn's advice. I learned many things about everyone, such as how Sahara had an interest in music, though she was quite horrible with any instrument she got her claws on, Singularity wanted to spend more time seeing the world and its sights, including any lands possibly beyond Pyrrhia (which was a silly thought though. I mean, come on, after several hundreds of years, surely the residents of Pyrrhia would know whether or not there were other lands out there, right?)

However, there were a few things that when I tried to talk to them about, I wasn't able to get an answer about, or they didn't want to talk about it. I still wasn't able to get Sara to talk about what had happened to her at Blister's base, and Asteroid didn't want to talk about the other person she was looking for other than her sister.

Another thing about our trip though was how the others began to follow my example, and began to talk to each other to pass the time. And different intervals i could see Singularity talking to Sahara, Sara talking with Asteroid, and then tham talking in different groups. It made me smile whenever i saw some of them talking to each other and laughing or smiling with each other, and I could feel that our group was starting to get closer to each other.

We traveled that whole week, and I was glad when I finally saw the ocean off in the distance, due to how my wings were beginning to tire. We had traveled through decent weather, the only thing slowing us down having been us finding a pass to fly through the mountains.

With our destination finally in sight, we all put a last surge of strength into our wings, flying further and faster to at least reach the ocean before the sun set for the day. Looking around, I could see the mixture of excitement and tiredness on everyone's faces, and I knew that they would be glad to finally land as well.

After an hour or so, we finally landed on the beach, the sun just beginning to set over the ocean. It was beautiful to look at, and that mixed with the great feeling of not flying anymore made me enjoy the moment more than ever. I wasn't the only one, many of the others staring over the ocean, with Singularity even changing her scales to match the scene as Sahara flopped onto the sand in content.

For a while, we enjoyed the scenery, and eventually decided to make camp on the beach. With everyone tired from the flight, I took first watch as the sky turned dark, looking over the sleeping forms of my friends as they fell asleep.

I took in a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the ocean as I stared off into it. I looked forwards to seeing Tempest again, and hoped that we would be able to find her without too much trouble.

Shows what I get for hoping, as I would soon find myself in yet another situation, having to fight the deranged in order to save my friend. However, since that wasn't now, and I had no way of knowing that would happen yet, I sighed and went over to wake up Sara for her turn to take watch.

 **Author's Note: Woot, another chapter** _ **on time**_ **! YES, I got my writing done! Though now I have a crud ton of homework to do! But it's worth it, because it the last week alone, I got some great comments on this story that made me smile and want to get more done, so thank you all so much for showing your support for my story! Anyhow, I don't have that much to say this time, so thank you all for reading and as usual, the next chapter should be up next week.**


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

I awoke the next morning early, blinking my eyes open as I greeted the morning sun rising in the distance. Taking in a deep breath of air filled with the scent of the ocean, I suddenly began coughing as sand went up my nose, having been thrown at me.

Once I was done getting all of the sand both off and out of my nose, I looked over and mildly glared at Asteroid, who was grinning at me tiredly while holding some sand. "Good, you are awake. Now I can get some last minute sleep before we have to get going again."

I rolled my eyes as Asteroid began curling herself up into a ball on the sand. "You could have just asked if I was awake, or, you know, read my thoughts and guess that I was awake. You didn't have to try to kill me by throwing sand up my nose."

"Psh, a little sand won't kill you, and I'm too tired right now to think about reading your thoughts, even if they're always there. Now shush, let me sleep." And with that, Asteroid sighed in content as she got some more sleep in for the day.

Shaking my head in amusement at mighty Nightwing being restless by staying up and taking a few hour watch in the _night_ of all things (which by thinking that led to a grumble and an annoyed flick of the tail in my direction), I decided to stretch my wings and see if I could find something for everyone to eat.

Walking over to my supplies, I quickly acquired a mesh of rope I had turned into a makeshift net and opened my wings, propelling myself towards the ocean. Surprisingly, my wings were only a little sore after flying for so long, and according to Sara, so were hers, when compared to the others whose wings were starting to ache. I could only guess it had to be due to the larger wings I had along with speedier endurance.

While I was thinking about this, I flew over the ocean, seeing if I could spot any schools of fish that were flying close to the surface of the water. After searching for a bit, I finally spotted a large swarm of fish, in which I quickly swept down towards them, preparing my lighting. Once I was close enough, I released my breath, shocking the surrounding water and the fish in it.

I had found this to be an easy way to acquire fish, even though the others always complained that the fish had a weird static like flavor to them. Once I had blasted the fish, I made a circle in the air, flying back to where I had shocked the fish, and proceeded to scoop up the fish I hit with the net. It wasn't enough for everyone, of course, and so over the course of an hour I repeated the process.

Once I had the net filled to the brim with fish, I began flying back to where we had set up camp, which was right along the coastline of Pyrrhia and had the first of the islands easily in view. When I got near, I could see everyone was up again and doing their own business, such as Sara splashing sea water in her face to wake herself up, Sahara making a new fire for us to use this morning, and Singularity poking the still form of Asteroid, who still hadn't gotten back up.

Landing onto the beach, I tossed the net near the fire that was now ablaze. "Breakfast is here everyone. Might as well eat now, cause in a bit we're going to make out way to the ruins of the Summer Palace."

I got a mixture of affirmations and grunts in response, with Singularity bounding over to me and hugging me while Asteroid sighed at having to get up. "Ooh, I'm so excited to see the Summer Palace, even though it's destroyed and in ruins. It'll still be nice to imagine what it once was, after all." She then looked over to the net and looked at me funny. "Fish again?"

I laughed a bit as she let go of the hug. "Eh, unless we find something else that is easy to get quickly that everyone can eat, yes." It wasn't that Singularity didn't like fish, since she actually enjoyed a flavor of something other than sweet, sour or bitter that came with fruit, it was just that this was the third day we had eaten fish, due to lakes that made fishing easy along the way.

Singularity nodded begrudgingly before going over to the pile and grabbing what resembled a salmon, though had a few extra sharp fins. "Well, this fish looks appeasing, at least. But still, I'm starting to think that a lifetime of fruit is better than a week of fish. Maybe if I mixed the two, it would even out…"

As I left Singularity to her business in deciding whether or not she would cook the fish over the fire or try to eat it raw, I went over and got my own fish, in which I chose a large, flat fish that seemed like a halibut, and I held it over the fire with a sharpened stick from my pack, still preferring my food cooked rather to raw.

After an hour, we had all eaten and fully rested, having only had small conversations about our plan today as we cleaned up our camp. When we were all done, I double checked our camp, making sure that there was no sign that we had been there. I might have just been paranoid, but I still didn't want to leave any hints for the crazed Sandwing obsessed with my skull.

With that done and everyone once more ready to go, we all opened our wings once more before flying into the sky over the ocean. With the breeze in our faces and the wing mild, we flew over the islands easily. It was a nice day to fly, with only a few clouds in the sky.

I led the way, followed by Sara, as we were the only two in our group to have visited the Seawing's former Summer Palace. We were all having a nice time, sharing small talk such as my experiences in the kingdom when I had been here with the dragonets, and what the Seawings were like. It was a nice way to pass the time, and it just made me more excited to see Tempest once again.

As I thought about my slightly insane friend, I could only ponder whether actually offering to bring her along with us was a good decision or not. Tempest didn't seem like a fighter, and I could only imagine what troubles we would encounter in the future, and whether or not she would be able to defend herself. It wasn't that I didn't think she could keep herself safe, it was whether or not she would be able to fight.

Shaking my head, I knew I had already promised myself that I would offer to bring her along, and it would be her decision whether or not to come along, especially with all of the details of my true identity and what this journey would consist of. With my mind set, I flew a bit more determined than before, eager to find my friend.

After a few hours of flight, we finally came across the island that looked like a dragon's skull, also known as the outside of the Summer Palace. I stopped everyone in the air as I looked at it from above. From where we were, we could see inside the island from above, the foliage still having not had enough time to grow back into the once beautiful canopy.

After looking around and not seeing any guards flying up at us, I decided we were okay and began flying down through the remains of foliage and into the remains of the Summer Palace. I grimaced at the sight before me, the once beautiful place having been left in ruins.

The water falls still fell, but were jagged in places where rocks jutted and stood out. The large central pavilions had been greatly destroyed, with several of the upper floors destroyed while the others were greatly damaged. Most of the caves were abandoned, leaving the whole place empty, with the only sounds being that of the falling water. I flinched away when I saw some blood, more than likely a Seawing's, which still hadn't been washed away, and I couldn't help it as the horrible feelings passed over me at seeing such a beautiful place in such disrepair.

I wasn't the only one who thought this as we began flying around, looking for the messenger that was supposed to be here, as Singularity spoke up. "Wow, I can certainly see how this place could have been beautiful once, but this...this is just _awful_. Is this really what happened because of the war?"

Asteroid and Sahara both nodded. "This and worst." Sahara said. "There were sometimes great battlefields littered with corpses of both sides of a fight, whether they were Icewings, Skywings, Sandwings, or Mudwings. I'm glad that they at least removed their fallen here, but this," Sahara said, looking over more of the damage. "Was why the war had to end."

Singularity grimly nodded, the realization of what was happening in the outside world while she had been peacefully living in her village hitting her hard. I wanted to comfort her badly, but I wasn't able to as I was suddenly grappled from the air by a blue blur, and I let out an "oof" as I was forced against the floor of a nearby cave, my front claws being held behind my back.

"I suggest you tell me who you are and why you are here right now." A female voice said from above me, who I could only presume was the messenger Seawing, though why they would be pinning a dragon wanting to send a message was beyond me.

"First of all." I spoke up. "Ow. That's at least the third time I've been tackled this month. Secondly, my name is Static, a friend of the dragonets of destiny who came here wanting to send a message for a certain Seawing. Third, I really suggest you get off of me before my friends decide to fight back."

With that, I felt a shift above me as the dragon looked behind me, letting out a startled "eep!" as she crawled off of me quickly, due to the sight of four really angry dragons. Getting off of the ground, I put my hands out in a calming gesture, signalling that I was alright.

Since the others were right behind me, I looked back forward to see the dragon that had tackled me. She was only a bit larger than I was, probably in her early twenties of dragon years. She had light blue scales, a bit brighter than the sky, with darker blue horns and under scales. Before, she had seemed certain and focused, but now that we outnumbered her and had accidentally cornered her in a cave, she looked extremely panicked and nervous.

"You're Static? _The_ Static, also known as the protector of the dragonets of destiny? And I accidentally tackled you? Oh, the Queen is going to kill me if she hears about this, but then again, anyone probably will if they found out. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I freaking tackled the protector…"

I raised my eyebrow at being called "the protector", since I had never been called that before, but then again I hadn't gone out in public often either. As for the Queen Coral killing her for what she did, it was doubtful, but having met the Queen after the war ended, she was definitely grateful I had helped to keep Tsunami safe, even though she was one of the dragonets that stood up for herself in a fight often.

Quickly speaking up, I decided to try to calm the Seawing down. "Hey, it's alright, no harm done. Like I said, I get tackled often, so it's no big deal. And besides, I'm just here to get a message to a friend and see if I can talk to her. You are the Seawing messenger, correct? What's your name?"

She seemed to calm down when I explained everything was alright, in which, after a second had passed after I asked my question, she suddenly looked more confident again before speaking up. "Alright, if you say everything is alright, then I guess I'll try to calm down. I'm sorry I panic so easily and tackled you. It's just that no one has been around here and seeing such a large group of dragons frightened me." She explained. "My name is Angelfish, which, I know, is silly being named after a fish, but my parents thought the first part sounded nice, so feel free to call me Angel. And you are correct, I am the Seawing messenger."

I nodded at her response, pleased to have found the messenger so easily, and to find out that she was kind if not a bit funny. "Alright then Angel, it's nice to meet you. As I previously said, my name is Static, and these are my friends Spark, Singularity, Asteroid and Sahara." I said, pointing them out. "We came here because I need to send a message to a friend of mine, asking if I could talk to her and see if she wanted to join us on our trip or had someone else in mind that could join us."

Angel stood up at attention, making herself look ready for anything, even if that was just to send a message. "I can definitely do that! It's my job, after all, and even though I'm only supposed to send important messages, I'm sure it must be important if the dragonet's protector is the one sending it. So, what do you want me to tell who?" She asked.

I grinned at her eagerness, glad that she was willing to help us. "Alright, I need a message sent to a female Seawing around my age named Tempest. Her scales are a blue-violet color and she has amber eyes. Also she's insane, so she shouldn't be that hard to find. I need a message sent to her asking if she can come here as soon as she can so we can talk and catch up on a few things, along with an offer to take her on a journey with me and my friends."

At my description of Tempest, Angel nodded in understanding. "Yes, I believe I know who you're talking about, though not personally. You are correct that she shouldn't be that hard to find, because the few times I did see her she always seemed to be up to some kind of mischief. One time I saw her place a bucket on top of a door. When a dragon walked through, they got lightly hit in the head by the bucket, only for her to burst out laughing since it "had water in it"".

I nodded, grinning. "Yep, that sounds like Tempest. How long do you think it will take for a message to get to her?" I asked, curious how long we'd be spending here.

Angel shrugged. "Depends on how long it takes me to find her. If I find her quickly, then only a few hours. If not, then maybe a day at most. If I still can't find her then, then there might be a problem. So at most, you'll have to wait here for a day."

"Alright, we can wait that long." I said, looking at the others and seeing their agreements on waiting. "So do we just stay here until you get back?" I asked, unsure of whether or not I even _wanted_ to stay here. Seeing such a beautiful place in ruins was just giving me bad feelings that worsened the longer I was here.

"Yes, that would probably make things easy for everyone, instead of having me have to hunt you down after already having to hunt down your friend. It shouldn't take too long, so just be patient until I get back. You can look around if you want, though most items that weren't destroyed in the attack were either moved or taken, so I doubt you'll find anything. Now, if you excuse me, I have a message to deliver."

As Angel said that, she passed by us, in which she dived down to the pool of water that was the exit of the Summer Palace, before disappearing beneath the waves she left behind.

With her gone, I looked towards the others. "Well, she was quite the interesting dragon." Asteroid said, staring at the spot where she had dived into with a raised eyebrow.

Singularity nodded in agreement, though she was grinning. "Yeah, but she seemed like a lot of fun, and I still think that Angelfish is a _great_ name." After that, she burst into a set of giggles. "I still find the prank that she described Tempest doing pretty funny though."

Sahara looked at me slightly amused, but also mildly concerned. "Yes, I do agree it is a tad funny, but Jack, do we really need a silly dragon with us on this trip? Sure, she could make traveling more excitable than just us talking to each other as we fly, but are you certain that it would be wise to bring her along if we were to get in a serious fight?"

Sara seemed to agree with Sahara, looking at me uncertainty. "Yes, I don't think bringing an insane dragon would be the best course of action, even if she is your friend. Do you even know if she can fight, or is even able to defend herself? Because if she can't, you know I have to ask why you want us to bring her along."

I shook my head in disagreement. "I know she doesn't sound like the best candidate, but let me explain something about Tempest. She might be insane, but she's also smart. She was the one that actually managed to help me figure out who was doing the Seawing killings back when I first learned of animus magic. And I know she at least can keep herself out of danger, since she did that quite well during the Summer Palace attack. Trust me when I say she's a good choice for us."

The others did so, surprisingly, since I didn't know they had that much trust in me, though Sahara and Sara both looked a bit uncertain still. "You can judge for yourselves what she's like when she gets here. And even then, she might not want to join us, which is always a possibility."

"A doubtful one." Asteroid said, making me look at her curiously. "You have a way of speaking that makes almost any dragon want to help you in your cause. I have a feeling that if you tell her that this trip is for the greater good, she'll believe you and want to come along no matter what. Afterall, what dragon wouldn't want to save the world with a dragon who certainly looks like they would be able to pull it off."

I smiled at Asteroid. "Thanks for the compliment, but I'm still just an ordinary guy who's found himself in a strange situation trying his best to make things right. I'm not that special compared to anyone else, like those in prophecies like the dragonets."

"Ah, but you must remember, if it wasn't for you, the dragonets might not have finished their prophecy, let alone survived it. Also, if you've already forgotten, you technically are part of a prophecy, remember?" Asteroid said.

At this response, I knew she had me beat, but before I could reply, Sara spoke up. "Yes, you mentioned the prophecy for the trip we're on before, but never told us it. Do you think now that we have some time to spare that you can actually explain it to the rest of us?"

As the others nodded in agreement, I gave Asteroid the okay to retell the prophecy that she had spoken. Nodding, she closed her eyes for a moment, as if thinking about something, before opening them, showing them to have the strange white glow as before. Everyone fell silent as Asteroid retold the prophecy and the quest we were currently on.

Once she was done, she slumped to the ground, though this time I was expecting it and was able to catch her, keeping her up until she had enough strength to stand on her own again. Everyone was still silent, with Sara looking deep in thought, Sahara mumbling to herself if she had ever heard of a sky tower, and then Singularity looking at Asteroid wide eyed and surprised.

Singularity was the first to break the silence. "Well, that was spooky. It's also great to know now that we're on a time limit and only have less than a year now to save the world before it, what, blows up or something?"

Sahara shook her head. "The prophecy didn't say that, all it said was that we would have a year before "the world will fall", which probably means everything will fall into chaos again. So technically we have a year before the worst events begin, though it doesn't technically mean we can't stop it after that, other than calling our "quest" a failure."

Sara spoke up at her. "Yes, but I'd still rather end this before the world falls, thank you, since I could see that only causing more problems for everybody, especially after the end of a twenty year long war."

"I agree with her. Everyone is just starting to get used to the idea of peace, and I doubt a year would be a good enough time before they're forced to survive again. That's part of why I'm keeping this trip secret, so we don't accidentally make anyone worry. Besides, we still have most of a year, and we already have three, almost four, of the dragons we need to get inside of this tower."

"But don't we still have to find it first?" Singularity asked. "And wouldn't someone surely have seen a tower floating in the sky by now? Because if they haven't, that might mean it's either magically hidden or it's not even in Pyrrhia, which would take us even more time to find it."

"Yes, I've thought about this, and I've been taking extra time to try to do some research into the tower, though I haven't found a thing. I do think I might find something when we go to the Skywing palace and go through their library, though it would have to be an ancient legend by now. If we can't find any info on the tower at all, I do have a few last resort plans on finding it, though i'd rather it not come to those."

Sara looked at me curiously. "And what would those plans be? I'm sure that if they're for the greater good, and if it helped us find the tower quickly, then we should make those our major plan, right?"

I began to shake my head, but Asteroid spoke up, having recovered. "The plans he has are last resort for a reason. They both involve sacrifice and payments of things that should never be given away. Remember, Jack always has everyone's best interests at heart, and I could only imagine the guilt he would feel if he were to go through with these plans, even if for the greater good."

"Oh." Sara responded, looking over at me. At the moment, I was staring at the ground, lost in thought. What Asteroid said was correct, due to how my plans involved asking either Tsunami's sister Anemone or Sunny's father Stonemover for help, though one would lose a part of their soul and the other might die from the experience. Either way, the actions would weigh heavily on me, and even if we saved the day, I would never forgive myself.

With the conversation having reached a stopping point, we decided to just wait around for a bit, looking around the ruins of the Summer Palace, everyone going their own ways, each lost in thought.

I flew up to a set of caves that I hadn't been allowed in when I had been here last time, curious as to what might have been there. Landing in the cave, I saw that it was larger than most, and had several racks lined across the walls. Looking around, I could only guess that this is where they kept their weapons and armor, even though it was all gone now.

Walking along the cave, I decided to see if anything useful had been left behind. Looking around though, I could easily tell that the place had been either cleaned out by the Seawings or ransacked by the invading forces, as not a single item was left.

As I went to leave the cave, I thought I saw something shimmer from the corner of my eye. Turning around, I saw the shimmer again before it disappeared from my angle changing. Moving slowly, I moved until I could see the shimmer again, and began to approach it.

Reaching the area where the object was, I bent down under a weapon rack that was close to the ground, wondering if it was some kind of weapon that had been dropped or left behind. After a few seconds, my claws felt along a round object, and after a minute I grabbed it and pulled it towards me.

Looking down, I saw that in my claws I was holding a fancy and exotic form of compass. It still pointed North, East, South and West, though it was clearly of Seawing construction, with the outside being made of colourful sea plants and stones. The center was a single pearl with a red colored needle sticking out of it, the end that faced wherever the compass pointed black.

It was definitely a nice compass, and I did need one for my journey since I didn't have one yet, but I wasn't sure if I should take it, since it did look quite valuable and I wasn't sure if anyone owned it. After a moment of thought, I decided to hold onto it for now, knowing that no one else was currently using it.

With that out of the way, I kept exploring, though nothing else of note occurred until Angel finally returned. As I was exploring the bottom area of the now destroyed pavilion, I heard the sound of water crashing around, and turned around to find Angel, who had just exited quickly from the water.

I smiled at her at first, glad that it hadn't taken that long, but soon noticed the grim expression on her face, making me look at her in concern. "What's wrong?" I asked her. "Does it have anything to do with Tempest?"

Angel nodded as the others arrived, landing next to me as we listened to what she had to say. "Unfortunately, yes. After searching for a while and with no results, I decided to ask around and see if anyone had seen her. After asking a guard, I was informed of the situation she has unfortunately found herself in."

I was wearing a grim expression now as Angel finished explaining. "Tempest can't come here right now because she's been kidnapped."

 **Author's Note: DUN DUN DUN! Tempest has been kidnapped? But why? And who? Find out next time on dragon ball….oh wait, this is a Wings of Fire fanfiction, not an anime with repetitive episode plots.** _ **Anyhow**_ **, I'm sorry since this chapter is a bit shorter than normal, but i've been scrambling to get it out on time. Anyway, on the bright side, after next week I should have more time to write again, so woot! Anyhow, thank you all so much for taking your time to read my story and for your support, and as usual, once again, the next chapter should be out next week.**


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

I felt my talons dig into the sand underneath me as Angel informed me of what had happened to Tempest. "Do you know who kidnapped her?" I asked, my voice rough and angry, though not at her. She was just a messenger after all. The others were surprised by my tone, with Singularity wanting to edge forward and comfort me, but Sara stopped her, holding her wing in front of her and shaking her head.

I couldn't wrap my mind around it, the idea of Tempest being kidnapped. Who would want to kidnap her, and why? She may be a bit strange, but that was no reason to abduct her. For a moment, it looked like Angel was too startled by my tone to answer, but after realizing I wasn't doing anything, she gulped before answering.

"The situation is a bit difficult to explain." Angel said, looking uncertain while nervously digging at the sand. "You see, it all starts with back in the war, along with some Seawing culture. Firstly, as you might have seen, most of us have different wing patterns." As she said that, she lifted up her wing, showing several several curls going in all directions. "These swirls, if they match another Seawing's, shows that we are related to them."

"What does this have to do with why Tempest was kidnapped?" I asked, interrupting her. I didn't like being rude like this, but I needed to know where Tempest was so I could get her back.

Angel was startled once more by my interruption, and she started moving back and forth on the sand, looking like she didn't want to be there anymore. "Um, well, you see, back in the war, there was a great general known as Commander Tempest. She led many battles and was a great leader, but was sadly assassinated during the war."

"There were rumors surrounding Tempest that I overheard, about how she might have been indirectly related to the former Commander, due to how they did look a lot alike, especially their wing patterns. It would also make since due to how nobody knew who Tempest's parents were, and there were even theories that she was the Commander's daughter, and she was either abandoned because of the war or her insanity."

"After the Commander's death, the contingent she led specifically fell apart under its new leadership, a dragon known as Eel. He led over half of them to their deaths in their first battle after the commander's assassination, and the rest were never the same. Many suffered head injuries and trauma, and some even refused to believe that the commander was dead. They were sentenced to go to the Seawing medical wings, but soon all of them escaped, not having been seen until a few weeks ago."

"According to the guards I talked to, the remaining ex soldiers charged into the palace quickly, and no one questioned them since they hadn't been seen for so long. However, everyone noticed them as they dragged Tempest out of the kingdom, flashing nonsense about the Commander's return, and by the time any guards could react, they were already gone."

At this point, I didn't know what to do. Tempest had been kidnapped by crazed ex Seawing soldiers, and they were probably hiding somewhere underwater. Where I couldn't go. I felt helpless as I scratched the ground in anger before looking at Angel, who looked frightened.

I was going to demand if she had anything else she could tell me, anything at all, but then I truely saw what I had done, seeing the expression of pure fear in Angel's eyes, a look that made it certain that she felt I was about to hurt her, or worst.

Seeing her like that, I immediately slumped to the ground, ashamed of what I had done, meanwhile the helpless feeling began circling me once more. "I'm...sorry for reacting like that." I said, trying to apologize. "You're just a messenger, one that was just informing me of the trouble my friend is in. I have no right to be angry at you or to release my frustration out on you."

For a moment, Angel just stood there, and I couldn't tell what she was thinking. After a second, she spoke up. "It's alright. I think I understand. You're probably just really mad at the dragons that took your friend, and I am giving you horrible news, after all. So I will accept your apology."

I got off the ground, feeling lighter at her words, though dread still hung over me. "Thank you. Now, I promise to stay calm, but do you have any other information, anything at all as to where they might be or if they left any clues?"

Angel shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. The guards that aren't busy guarding the palace and dealing with other matters have been assigned to searching the ocean, but there still isn't much effort being put into finding an insane dragon that was kidnapped by more insane dragons. Many places near the palace were searched, but so far nothing has come up."

Nodding slowly, I turned around, going to a random cave nearby. "Thank you for the information, Angel, and the trouble you went through due to me. No one bother me for a bit, I need to think of a way to track Tempest down."

"But Static…" I heard Singularity say, but someone stopped her from going on as I entered a cave. The cave itself was dark and musky, having been at the bottom of the palace and not tended to in some time. It was a perfect setting to reflect my mood as I slammed my fist into the ground.

I felt hopeless. My friend was in trouble, and there was nothing I could do to help her. I kept thinking of different ideas, like getting Tsunami or any other Seawings I could, trying to convince Queen Coral to advance the search, heck, I even thought of just holding my breath and seeing if I could find them that way, which just showed how desperate was.

My wings slumped as I began to realize that there was nothing I could do. All my life, I always tried to look out for others, to keep anyone safe in any way I could, not matter the cost. And yet, here I was, unable to do anything due to how I not only had no way of finding my friend, but also, if they were underwater, which they most likely were, there was no possible way for me to reach her.

For the first time in my life, I couldn't do anything when my friend needed my help the most. As this thought crossed my mind, I shook my head, refusing to believe it as tears began to appear. I quickly grabbed my bags, opening it and dumping everything onto the wet sand. I started going over everything I had, one by one. In the end though, it was useless. Nothing in those bags could help me, and there was nothing I could do to help my friend.

As the realization hit me, I fell to the ground, the tears freely falling from my face. I couldn't do anything, because I had failed.

While tears fell swiftly to the ground, I felt the emotions wrack me once more. For many, this might seem out of character for me, and this only made my tears fall stronger if anyone was to see me like this. I always tried to be the strong one, always trying to grin and make others smile when the going got tough. But at moments like this, everything had built up too high, and I couldn't take it anymore.

I was just a normal high school student. I wasn't some hero just because I was brought to this world and managed to help some real heroes fulfill their quest. I was just a guy trying to find his way home, but after having met some great friends here, I wasn't sure what I wanted now. I knew I had to save the world, but the aspect of saving such a large world with so many lives at stake, it frightened me.

And I had already failed. Tempest, I knew, was our Seawing, and there was no possible way to save her. I not only let my friend down, but I let the world down. And there was nothing I could do.

As that last thought drifted through my mind, I paused for a second before sitting up. " _No."_ I said to myself, wiping away my tears. "I will _not_ let my emotions get control of me. Not again."

Standing up from the sand, I walked over to my stuff, carefully placing everything back into the bag, thinking. I knew there had to be some way of finding Tempest, and if I couldn't find her now, I'd find a different Seawing. But in the end, I would find her, no matter what. I owed it to her, if not myself.

When I had finished putting everything away, I grabbed the bag, ready to head out. I stopped, however, noticing I had forgotten something. Turning around, I saw it was the compass from before, the one I had found hidden in the armory.

Reaching down, I picked it up and stared at it for a second. After a moment, I sighed, closing my eyes tight as I put it up against my head. "Please let me find Tempest, if not now then soon, before she gets hurt." I don't know why I did that, but I felt like I needed to say something, anything, to assure myself.

As I opened my eyes, I felt them widen in confusion as I looked at the compass. The needle was spinning wildly, as if there was a magnet or something nearby messing with it. Looking at it, I could only ponder if I had accidentally broken it before it stopped, pointing Southeast.

Wondering why the needle was stuck pointing in that direction instead of North, I decided to try something, with a fraction of hope filling my heart. "Singularity." I said to the compass, in which I waited for a second. After a moment, nothing happened, and I felt a bit of my hope drift away. After remembering what I said, I spoke again. "Let me find Singularity."

The needle immediately began spinning again, this time stopping to the left behind me. Turning around, I saw that the needle stayed pointing in the same direction, and I began following it. As I walked, the needle moved as well, staying fixated on the single point.

When I finally reached the exit of the cave that I was in, I peaked my head out, holding the compass in front of me. Looking out from the cave, I could see that everyone was grouped around each other, as if talking about something, meanwhile Angel was up on another level, eating what looked like a fish.

Looking down at the compass, I saw that it pointed straight ahead of me, pointing straight at Singularity. However, I had to make certain it worked, speaking quietly to the compass "Let me find Sahara", and "Let me find Asteroid." Each time I spoke to the compass, the needle shifted, changing so it could point at the dragon in question.

Finally, with hope filling my heart, I spoke up once more. "Let me find Tempest." The needle shifted once more, pointing Southeast once more. My talons started shaking as I looked that way, hoping to see something, even though I knew I wouldn't. It didn't matter though, because now, I had hope.

Now I had a way to find Tempest.

 _Meanwhile, hidden in the canopy…_

Sparks of anger began to escape my clenched jaw, spotting the lowly pawn below. He was starting to infuriate me, first by escaping that cave in, then by managing to eliminate the threat in the desert I had created, and now, in a moment of weakness, I had his emotions overtake him, and he managed to conquer his emotions as well!

That wasn't even the worst part, now that he had a animus touched compass. I had no idea who would make such a simplistic device, and it was obviously a waste of good power, but now it gave the pawn an advantage, one he shouldn't be allowed to have.

However, I knew I couldn't do anything about it now. If I revealed myself too early, it would only give the worm more of an advantage over me, and I had already wasted too much magic recently trying to have his emotions overtake him. One thing was for certain, he was determined, which only made things harder for me.

" _Oh, if only I could make that compass explode in his face._ " I thought to myself, but I knew if I did, my other half would be able to take over again and turn the tables, which would only make things more difficult. She disappeared more and more every day, but I still couldn't waste too much magic or she would reappear to annoy me once more.

"You win this round, pawn." I muttered under my breath, glaring at the dragon in question. "But just you wait, soon it will all be over for you." Turning around, I opened a portal behind me. Unlike usual, this one didn't lead to the tower. No, this one would lead me to an interesting dragon I had spoken to once before, one that I was certain would be quite interested in knowing the location of this worm that we now have an equal amount of hate for.

"Just you wait, for your end might be coming sooner than you think." And with that, I left the infuriating dragons behind.

 _Meanwhile, on the bottom floor of the former Summer Palace..._

I walked up to everyone, excitement on my face. They seemed to be talking quietly about something, and I couldn't overhear them, and before I could speak up or get any closer, they stopped talking, all of them turning around to look at me.

Sara spoke up first. "Oh, Jack, I see you're doing better now. You _are_ doing better now, right?" She asked, looking slightly concerned.

I nodded, though I still felt some of the after effects of my emotions from earlier. "Yes, I should be fine now. I'm sorry you all had to see me like that, I honestly don't know what came over me."

Sara shook her head. "There's no need to apologize. We all were just talking about you, and we do realize that there is a lot you've been going through and have already gone through. So, if you ever need anyone to talk to about anything, we'll be here for you no matter what."

I was surprised by this, along with how the others were nodding in agreement. I felt the resonating emotions from earlier disappear, remembering that no matter what, my friends were here to help me. I could do anything with them, and with their support, we could do anything we set our minds to.

We could even save the world.

I felt tears of happiness at the corners of my eyes as I jumped forwards, wrapping everyone in a large hug. I heard Asteroid and Sahara let out surprised "Eeps", meanwhile Sara rolled her eyes as she accepted the hug, and Singularity began helping me to get everyone in a large group hug.

"Thank you all so much for everything. I may have just met you at different points within the last few months, but all of you mean so much to me." I tightened the hug once more before letting go. "Now, who's ready to go find Tempest?"

The others looked at me confusedly. "Did you think of a way to track her down?" Sahara asked. I nodded as I pulled out the compass, holding it in front of me for them to see. Sahara gave me a confused look before speaking up. "I'm not following. How is a fancy looking broken compass going to help us find your friend?"

Shaking my head, Asteroid's eyes opened wide as she read my thoughts, staring at the compass in amazement. "It's not broken, nore is it a normal compass. It's animus touched, and can track dragons, according to Jack."

Everyone looked at me, shocked and surprised. "Where did you manage to find it? I thought animus touched items were supposed to be extremely rare? And why did you never bring it up before?" Sara asked.

"Because I just recently found it." I replied. Pointing up to where the former armory was, I explained. "I found it hidden under a shelf in the armory. Judging from how hidden it was, I could only guess it's been there for a long time."

Singularity jumped up in excitement. "This is perfect then! Now that we have a way to track down Tempest, we'll be sure to be able to save her from her captors." As she said this, yellow appeared on her scales, but Sahara shook her head.

"I don't think it will be that easy. We're not only going to have to fight trained Seawing soldiers, but even if we do find where she is, there is no guarantee that we can reach them. What if we follow the compass just to find that they're underwater?" Sahara asked.

"Then we get Angel to tell the Seawing guards." I explained. "Even if we can't reach Tempest herself, we can at least find out where they are hiding and get them captured. I'm certain that Queen Coral would want a few crazy dragons put in prison. Afterall, if they attack anyone, it will just give Seawings a bad name, especially if they're crazy and still think the war is going on."

The others nodded as Asteroid spoke up. "Well, what are we waiting for? It seems you are quite intent on finding this Tempest, and I am quite curious in meeting her now, so why keep her waiting. Let's let this compass lead the way, shall we?"

I nodded as I held the compass out in front of me before lifting my wings and taking to the air. As I flew up towards the canopy, I quickly shouted out to Angel. "We might have a lead. We'll be back soon hopefully, and we might need you to send another message, so be ready!" I heard her shout an "Okay" in response, but I didn't stop to wave goodbye. Instead, I kept flying until I exited the Summer Palace, intent on finding and saving Tempest.

Once we were out of the island and over the ocean once more, I began following the compass, heading Southeast. With the others behind me, we flew swiftly, having the rest from earlier fueling our impowered wing beats. We now knew where to go, and were ready to fight to get our Seawing, and my friend, away from her kidnappers.

Surprisingly, it didn't take us long to reach our destination, which was a large, heavily forested island. It wasn't the largest island in the area, but it certainly stood out, having several more trees than others, almost like that of the island of the Summer Palace.

When we flew over the island, I stopped my wings immediately as the compass did a 180, turning completely around as we passed over the island. Motioning for the others to stop, I quickly took a few beats back the way we had come, watching as the compass stayed pointed near the center of the island.

"This is the place, this is where they're keeping her." I said to everyone as they surrounded me. "Or, at least, this is where she is if she's above ground. It's still possible that the ocean leads under the island, but we should check the surface of the island in case they are there to hide from the guards."

The others nodded as I led the way, flying to the front of the island. "Why are we flying all the way over here?" Singularity asked. "Why don't we just dive right in, and if she is there, we can just grab her, maybe knock out a few insane soldiers, and fly away?"

I shook my head as Sara explained. "Because we don't fully know what we're up against yet. For all we know, there could be twenty soldiers there, meanwhile there are five of us, six if Tempest helped us, in which we would still be outnumbered. We have to scout out the area first and figure out just what we're up against first, in which we can then make a plan."

Singularity nodded in understanding as we landed on the beach and I began leading the way forwards, holding the compass in front of me to follow. The others crept behind me as we silently made our way through the trees, knowing that now we had to be stealthy.

At first, it was quiet, the only sounds being of nature and the ocean island's forest. However, after about an hour of creeping forward, in which the others were silently talking about possible plans, I held up my hand, shushing them.

I listened closely, as did the others, and a moment later, we could hear voices speaking in the distance. Nodding, I whispered to the others. "We're in luck. They seem to be above ground and not underwater. However, we still have to be careful, so stay quiet and follow me."

With the others nodding in confirmation, we continued forwards once more, the speaking getting louder and more noticeable as we edged forwards. I could only make out two voices as we crept forwards, until eventually we came across a clearing.

Peeking from behind a bush, I could tell it was a small clearing, and that there was what looked like a well in the center, large enough that two dragons could crawl inside side by side. Standing in front of the well were two armored Seawings, one male and the other female, each wearing what looked like chain mail along with spears attached to the ends of their tails.

Watching them, we listened in for a second before deciding to make any actions. The two were talking with each other, obviously bored of having stood there for some time. "So, back on the topic of the Commander, doesn't she seem a bit odd to you now? I'm not doubting her or anything, it's just that ever since we got her back, she's refused to give us any orders or lead us into any battles like the good old days. And what if she's right, and the war really is over?"

The other Seawing shook her head as she replied. "There's no way the war is over that easily and suddenly. Besides, after going missing for several weeks, I'm sure she is just recovering from anything she went through in that period. Besides, you heard Eel, he's been working on getting the Commander back to normal, and according to him, he's making progress, so hopefully she'll be back to normal soon."

The first guard looked confused as he replied. "Yeah, but doesn't it still seem slightly odd to you? First, she's reported dead, and then we find her with amnesia, thinking she's some other dragon with the same name, and yet, she does look younger. Besides, I'm not sure I like whatever Eel is doing to the Commander. You've heard the screams, right?"

I felt my claws dig into the ground as the female guard glared. "You better not be saying that you doubt either the Commander or her second in command Octopus, or I'll make sure that Eel finds out and gets you on clam duty if not worst. Besides, whatever Eel is doing seems to be working, and soon we'll have our Commander back, and we can fight and redeem ourselves in the eyes of the queen once more."

Not wanting to listen to this anymore, I turned back to the others, whispering. "Alright, it seems that that well is the entrance to wherever they'll holding and apparently _torchering_ Tempest, so we have to get in there as fast as possible. Singularity," I said, looking towards the Rainwing in question. "You camouflage yourself and creep up behind those two guards, and when I go to distract them, I need you to take them both out at the same time, alright?"

"Already on it." Singularity said as she melted into the trees. As she did, I turned towards the others. "We don't know what we're getting ourselves into here, so I need you all to be on guard and ready to fight as soon as possible. Take into account that most of them are not only armed but also armored, so be sure to ready to fight with these disadvantages in account."

Everyone nodded, so I turned around, ready to start my mission to save Tempest. Hoping that Singularity was ready, I stepped out of the trees, quickly attracting the attention of the two guards.

"Halt, who are you and how did you find this place?" The female guard said as both took combat positions, each looking at me intently as I stopped and raised my arms passively.

"Woah there, I'm just a dragon traveling around and trying to save the world. Unfortunately, to do so, I first need to save my friend, the one that you and the rest of your crazed contingent kidnapped. Anyhow, I have a schedule to keep, so have a nice nap you two."

As I spoke, they seemed to get more upset with each word that left my mouth as the female growled at me. "What do you mean have a nice…." Those were the last words to leave the guards mouth as her head was quickly shoved to the side, hitting the other guard's head who was moving in a similar fashion, in which their heads met with a sharp " _smack"_ as the two guards fell to the ground.

Singularity appeared above them, standing on top of the well. " _Well_ then, should we carry on?" I grinned up at Singularity as she grinned back at me, meanwhile the others came out from the bushes.

"Hold on for a second, let's first deal with these two." Singularity nodded as Sara and Sahara came up, each holding rope. We quickly stripped them of their gear, tossing the spears to the side, meanwhile Sara and Sahara took the chainmail, since they both had experience fighting in armor.

With the two guards tied up for the moment, we headed towards the well, meanwhile I was praying that it wasn't full of water. Thankfully, my prayers were answered as we walked up to the well and looked down to see a large blue glowing chasm. We couldn't see much, but from what we could see, we knew we had a problem anyways.

There were soldiers everywhere.

There had to be around twenty or so soldiers, and that was just what we could see from our position at the top, in which we could also see that there were tunnels that led out of the main chasm. Pulling out the compass, I moved around until I found a tunnel that was separated from the others that the needle pointed directly towards.

Knowing what we were dealing with, I looked towards the others. "So, we now know where Tempest is being held, along with what we're dealing with, which is, to say the least, a lot. Suggestions?" I asked.

Sahara was the first to speak. "I would suggest getting backup from the Seawing soldiers, but now that we've already dealt with the upper guards, we don't know how long until they figure out something is wrong."

I blinked for a second before facepalming. "I should have thought about that. Anything else?" I asked, unsure of just how we were going to deal with so many soldiers.

Singularity spoke up next. "I could try to sneak in with a piece of armor and a spear, and then when I find Singularity, disguise her as a guard and sneak her out."

I shook my head. "That's too risky, since we don't know how many more soldiers are on the other side of that tunnel. Besides, we already have Tempest in trouble, we don't need you to get imprisoned or worst by several crazed Seawing soldiers."

As Singularity nodded disappointedly, Asteroid spoke up. "I have an idea, one that I thought was a dream but might be a vision. Essentially, we fly in quickly and get to Tempest while one of us goes to get Angel to send a message. We would have to hold the tunnel until the guards get to us, but if they do and we succeed, we'll not only rescue Tempest, but we'll also have the guards already dealing with the soldiers."

I nodded. "It's risky, very risky, but it could work. But I need to know who to send as a messenger before we do this, and I need to know how soon."

Hearing a commotion from below, Asteroid spoke up again. "I'll get the message sent. Out of everyone here, I'm the least experienced in fighting, and the rest of you together will be better. We need to do this now, so I'll see you as soon as I can with an army of Seawings beside me."

Nodding, I turned towards the others as Asteroid opened her wings. "Alright, is everyone ready for this?" I asked. Everyone nodded, ready for the coming fight. "Alright then, good luck everyone, and Asteroid, we're counting on you." I said as I turned to Asteroid, who nodded towards me before launching towards the canopy of the island.

As she burst through the canopy, I got on top of the well, ready to dive in. "Don't worry Tempest, I'm on my way." And with that, I let go, falling head first into enemy territory.

 **Author's Note: Woot, another chapter on time and at full length at that! Anyhow, I am now done with the school activity that was taking up much of my free time, so chapters should remain steady once more for a while. Anyhow, thank you all for your support in reading this story, and for taking your time to read it. Also, to answer a few questions, I am planning to go all the way through darkness of dragons, I won't be doing external stories like Darkstalker legends, and I'll probably write through the next 5 books as well. Also, I am not currently accepting any oc's, since I don't have any use for them at the moment. Also, I have no plans as to continuing any of my other stories, due to how, looking back, I really wonder why I wrote some of them. Also, for any of you that don't fully understand what is happening with Commander Tempest, essentially she was a great Seawing Commander during the war who was assassinated. This is canon lore, though the commander came up in one of the "Winglets", which are short side stories. I decided to use this lore with the fact that the oc for my group was also named Tempest, which essentially created this chapter. Anyhow, enough of my rambling. Thank you all so much for your support, and as usual, the next chapter will be up next week.**


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

 **(Brief FYI, this chapter is a bit darker than most, but if you've read the Wings of Fire books [which you hopefully have if you're reading my story], especially books 1 and 2, then they shouldn't get much darker than that.** _ **I think**_ **. Anyhow, enjoy the chapter and I'll speak again at the end.)**

With one last deep breath, knowing that any mistakes could lead to our injuries and death, I dived in, knowing the dangers ahead. I went in first, followed by Singularity, then Sahara, and then finally Sara in the very back. I led the way due to how I had the compass and how my lightning could stun any dragons that stood in our way, which is why Sara was in the very back, that way she could use her lightning if any of them got too close.

I was thankful that we were dealing with Seawings as we dove into their lair, due to how they had no fire or venom to use against us, and would have to get close to our group if they were going to attack us. Thankfully, we had the element of surprise on our hand, so they wouldn't be able to inform everyone about our presence until it was too late.

Quickly looking around the cave as I fell, I saw it would actually be quite beautiful if it wasn't currently occupied by several crazy looking Seawings (and by crazy, I mean several of them seemed twitchy or were on edge, some even staring off at things that weren't really there). The cavern was lit by a faint blue light from several cave worms hanging from the ceiling, like those described to me by Clay when he was escaping the dragonet's original home. However, surrounding the cave and reflecting the light everywhere were crystals of all shapes and sizes, casting the cave in a beautiful blue light.

I didn't have time to focus on the cave's wonderous look however, instead focusing on the cave tunnel ahead of me. Diving into it, I heard the first shout break out from behind me as the others quickly followed. However, from the roars behind us, I could tell that the other Seawing soldiers would soon be behind us as well.

Beating my wings faster, taking turn after turn as I made my way through the tunnels, I began to take notice of my surroundings as we passed by. I could see several rooms that branched off from the tunnel, such as living quarters and dining halls, making me wonder not only how long the ex soldiers have actually been here, but also how they managed to get this place in such conditions as it was now. You don't just make a base out of old tunnels so easily, after all.

However, as I began to wonder just how far these tunnels, I heard it. A scream. Not just any scream though, but one of anguish and pain, and female at that. Even though I had never heard her scream like that before, I didn't have to guess who was screaming. Putting all of my energy into my wings, I surged through the halls faster, only to have the screams get closer.

After a minute, I saw a room straight ahead of me emanating actual light, like from a fire, not the blue light that came from the crystals. Stopping my wings, I slowed down enough until I could land on the ground, before taking several steps forward. I stopped however, flinching as another scream came from the room.

As much as I (and noticeably the others) wanted to burst into the room and help Tempest, we still didn't know what we were up against, and so we marched forwards to investigate. I grimaced as the smell of burnt fish filled my nostrils, knowing nothing good could come from it. Once we were at the room, I peeked inside, and was horrified at what I saw.

The room looked much like some kind of medical lab, though with the tables and beds with straps on them, it looked more like a mad scientist's lab. Medical equipment was scattered about, and a large glowing lamp in the center of the room lit everything. Standing next to one of the table was a scarred Seawing, the most noticeable being a large gash against his head, as if something had brutally smashed into it. Next to him, strapped to the table, was Tempest.

I wanted to cry as I saw the condition Tempest was in. She looked utterly defeated, and had what looked like several burn wounds all across her. As I stared at her, wanting nothing but to comfort her, I watched as the scarred Seawing began to speak. "So, Commander, are you finally done pretending to be some lowly citizen already and finally lead your troops into victorious battle once more?"

Tempest slowly moved her head to look at the dragon, sadness and pain written across her face. "No matter how many times the sparks fly, or the moon turns, I am still not your Commander. Just let me go, that's all I will ever ask from you and your troops."

The Seawing shook his head, reaching for some kind of tank next to him. I noticed his hands were wrapped in some kind of shiny material as he began speaking again. "I'm afraid that's not the answer I was looking for, Commander. Ah well, I'm certain that just a few more of these shocks will knock you back into your senses."

As he said this, my eyes widened as he pulled a large withering shape out of the water, one that I quite recognized as an electric eel. "Now hold still this time, Commander. And please try not to scream, for the troops are starting to complain."

I had seen enough, and so I barged into the room, immediately charging at the Seawing. He had time to look at me surprised before I punched him square in the face, sending him flying back.

Ignoring the now downed Seawing, I quickly turned towards Tempest, who was looking at me with a weak smile, tears forming in her eyes. "Static. By the seas I am so happy to see you again."

I shook my head, saddened at having to see her in such a state. "I'm just sorry I couldn't get here sooner. If I had known you were in trouble, I would have been here sooner." As I spoke, I began to unbind her. "Don't worry though, we'll be getting you out of here soon, okay?"

As she nodded, I quickly heard a shout from Singularity. Turning around, I saw that a few Seawing soldiers had arrived. "Static, we have a problem! If you could help us, it would be appreciated!" Sahara yelled as she dove underneath a Seawing's tail as it swung at her.

Cursing under my breath, I quickly swiped at the binding that was holding Tempest's arm. "Do you think you can finish getting out by yourself?" As she weakly nodded, I turned around and began moving towards the Seawing soldiers. "Tempest, once you're free, just stay back and keep yourself safe. We'll do the rest."

Arriving at the scene of a growing battle, I lunged forwards, knocking a Seawing off of Singularity before grabbing his head and hitting it against the floor, knocking him out. Quickly turning around, I let out a gasp of pain as a Seawing raked her claws against my arm, and I felt a sharp pain in my other arm as she followed her attack by hitting me with her powerful tail.

Falling to the ground, I grimaced as I rolled to the side as talons smashed the place where I had just been. Spinning back up, I quickly let out a burst of sparks, quickly enveloping the surprised Seawing as she fell to the ground.

"There are just too many!" Sara yelled out as two new soldiers took the place of the one I had just been fighting. Looking around, I could tell that the others were in similar situations. However, as I was looking for a way to deal with all of the new opponents, I heard a shout from behind me, along with what sounded like something falling.

Turning around, I saw that Tempest was still tied to the table by one leg, in which she had fallen over as she desperately attempted to get away from the mad Seawing behind her. He now had a noticeable black eye and seemed to be giggling as he raised the eel over his head, and I only had time to yell and get hit by a soldier as he connected it to Tempest.

Time seemed to slow down as what happened next seemed to happen frame by frame. First, Tempest began screaming in pain as the eel withered on top of her, shocking her with several bolts of electricity.

Next, the eel was taken off of her as I was pinned under a soldier, only able to watch in horror as the Seawing looked down and spoke at Tempest. "Now, Commander, show us that you've returned. Go, kill the dragons that have infiltrated our base and tried to take you from us!"

After saying that, Tempest's eyes opened wide, but something wasn't right about them. Her pupils were small, her eyes dilated. Spinning around with renewed energy, Tempest tore off the last binding with her claws before shakily getting up. For a moment, Eel grinned at this, but as Tempest faced towards him, his grin faltered before Tempest moved once more.

I stared in shock at what Tempest had done in just a split second, and so was Eel, alongside everyone else in the room that had seen what had happened. For a moment, Eel stood there, and as he slowly reached for his neck, he fell to the ground, in which he would never get up again.

Tempest didn't stop there, however, and quickly turned towards us as she growled. Leaping forwards, she quickly bound across the room and knocked the soldier that was pinning me off of me, knocking him into a wall with an oof. Tempest was there before the soldier could react, quickly pummelling him several times, making him fall down weakly, though not unconscious.

Not satisfied, Tempest growled again as she raised her red stained claws. However, before she could bring them down, I grabbed her wrist. Her head spun, quickly facing me with a snarl, before stopping. I looked at Tempest not afraid nor disappointed, but sad, with tears filling my eyes at what that dragon had done to my friend.

Something in Tempest changed as she saw me, and her muscles relaxed. After a moment, her eyes returned to normal, and Tempest had time to look at me confusedly before falling unconscious, her rage and energy from it exhausted.

I quickly grabbed her, not allowing her to fall as the soldier quickly ran in the opposite direction, screaming about how Eel was dead and that the Commander had become a monster. I ignored him, however, along with the rage of battle, taking my time as I reached a bed and slowly eased Tempest down upon it. Once I was certain that she wouldn't be disturbed, I turned back around to face the growing number of opponents.

As I slammed my way into one soldier who slammed into another, knocking the two over, I knew that we were heavily outnumbered if not outmatched, with everyone not looking so great with several scratches and growing bruises forming.

While I dodged another Seawing's tail, making them hit another in the head and knocking them out at the cost of another talon swipe against my side, I could only hope that Asteroid would be here soon with those reinforcements.

 _Meanwhile, on the outside of the former Summer Palace..._

I beat my wings as fast as I could, my goal so close, knowing that the others were counting on me. As I flew, I hoped that they would be able to hold out long enough for me to get my message across and for reinforcements to come to their aid.

The trip to the Summer Palace remains had not been pleasant, and I wasn't certain if it was my imagination or my actual powers plaguing me as I kept seeing my friends broken and defeated bodies underneath the victorious and crazed Seawings. I shook my head once more as I dove past the waterfall and next to the broken pavillion, knowing that I wouldn't allow that vision to happen.

Not unless I was there with them. If they were to perish, then I would suffer the same fate alongside them.

Not having time to focus on my thoughts about how I felt about my friends, I quickly landed on the pavilion floor where Angelfish was, having listened in on her bored and curious thoughts on the way in. She turned around surprised, though mildly curious and disappointed as to why it was only me there.

"We need you to send a message, and quickly." I spoke, making what I said sound urgent to get the point across quickly, since it was important, after all. "We found where all of the mad ex-Seawing soldiers are, and where they were keeping Tempest. There were around fifty overall within their hidden base, and currently my friends are fighting tooth and claw to save Tempest, and they need help quickly!"

Angelfish looked alarmed before nodding and heading over to the side of the pavillion, but looked at me worriedly before she left. "But what am I supposed to do? I doubt that the guards will just instantly leave their duties just to go fight and capture a few crazed Seawings who currently have only kidnapped another crazed Seawing."

I gave her and urgent look before stomping my foot to the ground. "This is more important than that! Go tell them that the protector of the dragonets or whatever you call Static needs aid against a rogue group of crazed Seawings. Tell anyone if you have to; guards, citizens, heck, even the Queen! Just get help, and quickly!" Thinking over for anything else I might have needed to tell her, I quickly shot up, almost forgetting the most important detail. "They're hidden in a secret cave base on a forested island Southeast from here. The entrance is at the center of the island through a well. Now go, quickly!"

Angelfish nodded before diving off the side of pavillion, diving headfirst and shooting into the water below. I sighed, my energy spent at having gotten here as quickly as possible, my adrenaline gone. But I shook my head as I opened my wings, preparing to take off.

My friends needed me, and I wasn't about to abandon them. Especially not Static. Propelling myself into the air, I thought about everything he had done for me. He made me finally leave my hole, he gave me friends, he even gave me the feeling I would finally find my sister and we would be able to find _her_ together.

Essentially, Static...no, _Jack,_ gave me hope. And I wasn't about to let that hope die.

 _Meanwhile, back at the hidden base, inside the mind of a slumbering Seawing…_

 _I thrashed around wildly, trying to get away. Trying to not let the darkness consume me. I flashed the lights of my scales, but they did nothing against the darkness. Their words kept easing into my mind, and it took all of my effort to try to ignore them._

 _"_ Why try?..." _"Everyone thinks you're crazy…." "_ Nobody cares for you…" _"You were abandoned for a reason…" "_ Feel the pain, embrace it…" _"Take your revenge, and_ kill _every last one of these crazed dragons that hurt you…_ " "If you're not one of them, them prove it…." _"How would he feel if he knew the truth?..."_

 _My eyes widened at that last one, and the voices laughed as they finally found a weak point._ "He thinks you're crazy…" _"Why would he ever make a_ kill _er his friend?..."_ "You killed that dragon, and now he'll hate you…" _"But there is a way to make him forget…."_ "All you'll have to do…." _"IS KILL HIM!"_

 _My eyes opened once more past the tears that wept across my face. "I will never hurt the shining shell that is Static. Even if he hates me because of you, of what you did to me, I will accept that. I. Won't. Hurt him."_

 _The voices quieted for a moment, as if muttering, before what felt like them grinning madly as they returned with their comments full force once more. "_ But we didn't do anything…" _"That was all you…"_ "You couldn't take the pain any more..." _"You wanted revenge…"_ "You refused to be _her…" "And yet, in the end, you are just like her…."_ "You killed another dragon, just like her…" _"You turned out just like Eel wanted you to…"_

 _Slamming my talons down onto the ground, I gripped the ground fiercely, wanting to wake up from this horror that was my nightmare. Suppressed memories began to resurface, those of my mother, those of when I was abandoned. "Static, please, help me…." But Static couldn't do anything here, in my mind, and so, I cried more, unable to do anything against the voices and the memories…_

 _Meanwhile, in the real world in the hidden Seawing base…_

Slamming my fist into one Seawing, I quickly turned my head, and upon ensuring that none of my friends were in the way, I released a torrent of lightning. As a couple more Seawings fell, I knew that that was my last breath of lightning for the moment, and I would have to rely on my fighting abilities from here on out.

At the moment, we weren't doing so great. Everyone had several cuts and bruises showing through their scales, and there were still more Seawings coming, more and more arriving as soon as we managed to take down one.

Dodging another Seawing's talons and ducking under another tail just to be scratched across a wing, I felt that this was a battle we honestly wouldn't be able to win. As my blood continued to drip down onto the floor, I knew I had to do something soon or else we would all be wiped out.

Looking around for something I could use, I saw that to my dismay that Singularity had a Seawing's tail going towards her head. She saw it at the last moment, but it was too late to avoid it fully, and with a loud smack, Singularity fell to the ground, unconscious, but possibly worst as the Seawing loomed over her.

I didn't let them get any closer to her, however, as I flew over and knocked him into the nearby wall, knocking them out cold as their head smacked into the stone wall. I quickly scooped up Singularity and flew over to the medical beds, getting some more scratches along my tail in the process.

As I layed her slumbering form on the bed, I got an idea. Looking around, I saw that there were several more medical beds. Grabbing the side of one, I quickly spun around, gaining momentum before letting go, sending it hurdling into a large group of Seawings.

Several Seawings were knocked aside and pushed back into the tunnel outside as they were hit, and, seeing what I had done, Sara and Sahara followed suit, grabbing their own beds and hurling them towards the Seawings.

Not expecting such an unorthodox attack, all of the Seawings were forced back and out of the room. All three of us quickly ran forwards, pinning the beds into the entrance. However, we were soon being pushed back, all of the Seawings pushing against us and trying to overwhelm us once more.

"Static, this isn't working! They'll be on top of us soon!" Sahara shouted as she strained to keep the bed up, several Seawing talons pushing their way around the edges. However, for a moment, I wasn't thinking up ways on how to help our situation, instead noticing how horror movie this situation was at the moment.

Shaking that thought out of my head, I quickly looked around, before noticing a long metal pole hanging over e with curtains attached to it. Quickly jumping up and using my momentum to push the bed back a bit farther, I reached up and grabbed it before yanking it out of the wall and down to the floor with me.

Moving quickly, I flung myself around, putting the pole between the beds and to the other side. Noticing what I was doing, Sara quickly grabbed the other end and began putting her weight against it, with Sahara doing the same in the middle. Together, all three of us pushing against the pole, we were more easily holding the Seawings back.

"We can't stay like this forever." Sara said, panting as she pushed back against the pole. "They'll soon overpower us. I'd say we may have a minute at most before they coordinate enough to all push at the same time. So, what do we do Jack?"

I looked around, surveying my options, but noticed we had none. We were overpowered, outnumbered and cornered, and all of us that were still standing were injured and fatigued. Shaking my head, I answered Sara. "I don't know. I honestly don't see a way out of this. Sorry for getting the rest of you into this mess."

Sahara grinned over at me as she strained against the beginning to bend pole. "Don't put yourself down Static. I'm sure we'll find a way out of this. And, in the off chance we don't...just don't blame yourself, okay? We all came down here knowing we might not come back up. All of us would fight with you to the end, so never forget that, alright?"

I grinned back at her as I felt the pressure quickly ease on the beds, and I could hear commands occuring outside. "Thanks for the pep talk Sahara. Now, it sounds like this is it, so should we get out of the way and fight with the last of our spirits when they arrive?"

Walking to the back of the room, Sahara and Sara both looked at me, smiling. "At least we die knowing we put up a good fight. Don't forget, I always love you Jack." Sara said. "If this is it, then I guess I should apologize for how I've been acting lately. If we make it out of this, I'll be sure to talk to you about my problems finally."

"Love you too sis. And I look forward to our talk. And...thanks you two. You've both helped me a lot since we started this crazy quest. Here's hoping this isn't the end after all."

As they nodded in agreement, we braced ourselves for the coming fight. We waited for when those beds would knock down and several Seawings would burst into the room, in which they would quickly overpower us. So we waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

After a few minutes, I began to ponder if they were just trying to make us lower our guard, but as I walked over to the beds, I realized I could hear fighting from the other side. Moving the beds slightly to the side, my eyes widened at what I saw.

Several of the ex soldiers lay on the ground unconscious while the rest were striving to either fight back or run away from the growing numbers of armored Seawings. Leading the charge were two dragons I recognized, the first being Asteroid who easily stood out in the large crowd of blue and green scales, the second dragon being Sealion, who was the guard that I remembered helped Tempest and I back when the dragonets and I were in the Summer Palace.

Walking away from the beds, I looked over and grinned at Sara and Tempest. "Looks like we're going to survive this after all. Asteroid and the Seawing reinforcements just arrived." The others smiled back at me at the news, now that we were safe.

Sighing, I layed back on the stone ground, exhaustion seeping into my bones. "I would go and join their fight, but I'm too exhausted and it looks like they brought enough guards to deal with the soldiers. Besides, I think my right arm is fractured from all the hits it got from those powerful tails of their's, and I'm still bleeding a bit. Wake me up when the guards get in here, alright?"

The others agreed with me as they laid back as well, and even though none of us actually slept, we definitely relaxed, our exhausted and injured bodies taking its toll on us. Looking around at everyone, I knew this was our worst fight yet. All of us were bleeding from several fresh cuts in our wings, sides, etc, and all of us had bruises showing through our scales from where the Seawings hit us with their tales.

It was foolish of me to rush us into this battle, but what was done is done, at least for the moment. Everyone was alive, at least, though I felt bad for Singularity, who would probably be waking up with a horrible headache. And then there was Tempest…

Looking over at her sleeping form, I flinched whenever I saw her twitch, which was often, as it looked as if she was in a deep and troubled dream. I felt horrible for what she had gone through, knowing that nobody should ever have to go through... _that_. Shifting my gaze over to the dead body of Eel, I realized that, in a way, he had succeeded, and I had failed.

Shaking my head, I remembered the look Tempest had given to me before falling asleep. There was still hope for her, as long as I was there it seemed. Thus, I planned to wait until she woke up, making sure that she would be okay before me and the others left.

I also planned on leaving Tempest behind.

Originally, I felt that Tempest would indeed be our Seawing with all of my heart, but now, I knew that not only would that be selfish, but it wouldn't be right to put her in a position where she might have to fight, not when she had been torchered by dragons who wanted her to do the same thing.

While I sighed at knowing it would be hard both physically and emotionally to find a new Seawing to join us, I heard a shout from outside from what sounded like Asteroid. "They're in here!" She shouted, and not a moment later, the wall of medical beds fell to the ground. "Static, thank goodness you and the others are alright!" Asteroid said as she pushed the beds to the side and ran over to us, being followed by several Seawings, including Sealion.

"Well, I wouldn't say alright, since we have several cuts and bruises, but alive and breathing would definitely be more accurate." I said as Asteroid helped me get off of the ground, even though most of my body was complaining as I did so. "Hello Sealion, it's good to see you again."

"As it is good to see you as well, Protector. It's a good thing we made it when we did, seeing by your injuries. I'm honestly surprised you managed to do so well, seeing as how you were fighting against a whole contingent of trained soldiers." His face grew solemn and serious as he continued. "Now, where is Tempest?" He asked.

I sighed as I pointed towards were unconscious form. As he walked over, I explained what happened. "We found her being torchered by a dragon named Eel, who was using the creature of his namesake to try and force her to become what they thought as their Commander, a dragon who was also known as Tempest."

As Sealion looked over her, he sighed and shook his head. "They weren't too far off, but we'll talk about that later. First, we need to get the rest of you medical treatment. Then, we need to find Eel and ensure that he is punished severely for what he's done."

"I'm afraid Tempest beat you to that second part." I replied as I pointed over to the body. As Sealion looked over, his eyes grew wide in realization as we looked between Eel's neck and Tempest's claws. "In a way, for a moment, Eel succeeded. But before she could hurt anyone else, I managed to stop Tempest and calm her down enough that she fell asleep."

Sealion looked like he didn't want to believe what I was saying, but knew it was the truth. Looking over to me sadly, he spoke. "I guess I'll have to place guards on her for when she wakes up, just in case. Hopefully, it won't come to that. But like I said, we can talk more once we get you out of here and have some dragons look over your wounds."

I nodded as he called for a few dragons, and moments later four dragons came into the room, carrying forms of stretchers. Together, the four grabbed Tempest and Singularity, and together as a large group, all of us were led out of the secret Seawing base, our fight over.

 **Author's Note: Hey there, thanks for reading my story and this current chapter. The chapter itself was a bit more difficult for me to write, as sadness and pain like this really gets to me, to the point where i actually considered deleting the whole chapter and retrying. However, I knew that, even though sad, stories always have to have a conflict, and this is setting the stage for several in the future that I have planned. In fact, next chapter already has a talk with Sara on more of what happened in the Sandwing camp, history on Tempest, and the ultimate outcome of what will happen to our favorite insane Seawing (which is another reason why I had a hard time writing this. I adore how I write Tempest, and hurting her kinda hurt me at times, but it's worth it for you guys [and gals]). Anyhow, I hoped you all enjoyed, and as usual, the next chapter will be out next week. (PS. I do read your comments, and every single one of them brightens up my day when I read them, even if they're just a simple question. They remind me that actual people read my story, which is an achievement in itself for me.)**


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

After making our way to the exit of the secret Seawing base, we were greeted by several more Seawing guards who had stretchers similar to the ones that Singularity and Tempest were in. After talking with Sealion for a moment, it turned out that we were going to be moved over to the Summer Palace ruins since it would be safer there, and the stretchers would be for any of us that were too injured to fly there.

That unfortunately turned out to be all of us except Asteroid, with Sara, Sahara and I having several cuts on our wings and tears through them, which stung a lot and would only become worse with flight, if any of us were even able to get off the ground. So after a second of thought, the three of us agreed and climbed into the stretchers, in which we were then carried to the Summer Palace.

On the way over to the Summer Palace, I talked to Asteroid about how she was able to get so much help so quickly. Apparently I would have to thank Angelfish for that, due to how she, on the suggestion from Asteroid, went straight to the Queen with the call for help. Queen Coral was more than willing to send aid to the Protector, especially if it helped to capture rogue Seawings that could give her people a bad reputation.

Once we had the support of Queen Coral, she immediately sent several groups of guards our way, with the one in charge of them being Sealion, who hadn't stopped searching for Tempest since she was kidnapped. After that, a few medical dragons were sent to the Summer Palace ruins for when we were finished. They weren't specifically for us, just anyone injured, but they would still aid in patching up our injuries.

The best part about this is how I wouldn't have to repay Queen Coral in any way for this, in which, according to Sealion, this was her way of paying me back for helping save Tsunami when she was in danger last time we were here. I was happy about that, due to how I don't like leaving debts unpaid.

When we arrived at the ruins, we were immediately escorted to a large cave where several dragons were waiting for us. We were separated from Tempest, unfortunately, since for the time being she would be put in a guarded tunnel while she was being treated. After asking, I would however be allowed access to the tunnel and be informed when she wakes up.

I was thankful that the Seawings were being so thoughtful and understanding as they began to patch up my scratches, but it only made since after I thought about it. I had just put a stop to a large amount of crazed Seawings who were eventually going to attack the other tribes, thinking that the war was still occuring. This would have damaged the Seawings reputation greatly, and thus, I had managed to save them from having to fight another war, whether physically or politically.

Anyhow, as it turns out, we were more injured than we thought, and it would take at least a week at least for any us to be able to fly again without worsening our injuries, and even then, we wouldn't be able to fly for long periods of time like we have been recently. So, for the time being, our adventure was on hold until we were rested enough.

After checking over Sahara and Sara to see how they were doing and finding them in the same predicament as myself, I decided to go check on Singularity to see if she had woken up yet. As I walked over, I looked over myself and was thankful that nothing would scar, as everything was treated quickly and the wounds weren't that deep. I could only imagine what my friends would think if I came back covered in scars, after all.

When I reached Singularity, I was happy to see that she was awake, and like the rest of us, had several bandages covering her, though she had more adorning her head than the rest of us. "Hey Singularity, glad to see you're awake and alright." I said as I walked over to her.

She smiled lightly as she looked both of us over. "I wouldn't really call being wrapped in a dozen bandages and having a killer headache alright, but hey, I am alive though, so that's a plus." At joking about being alive, I flinched slightly, still feeling guilty about leading everyone into the fight. Singularity noticed as she tried to change the subject. "So how is everyone doing besides you and me? Is everyone else doing fine?"

"That's a difficult question to answer." I said, looking towards the exit of the cave while sighing. "Tempest still hasn't woken up since the fight, and we still don't know how she's doing mentally yet. As for the others, they're much like you and me, covered to the brim with bandages. According to our medics, we won't be able to leave for at least a week, and it will only take even longer for us to fully recover."

Singularity sighed. "Well, that's a bummer. At least everyone made it back safely from the looks of things, especially with the aid of the Seawings. Besides, after a fight like this, surely things will get slightly better from here on out. I mean, I don't see any ways things could get much worse after this fight, other than the end of the world and all."

I looked over and smiled at Singularity, but it was more of a hopeful one than one of happiness. "Yeah, I hope so too Singularity."

 _Two days later…._

Standing on the edge of the cave, I looked down below to see what everyone was doing. I could see Singularity talking with Asteroid, and Sahara speaking to a Seawing guard about something. As for Sara, she was currently making her way up to me, using her bandaged wings to quickly jump and mildly glide from platform to platform, which was the same way I had gotten up here, since none of us could fully fly yet.

After a few minutes, Sara finally reached the cave, having herself land next to me before collapsing. "First they tell us we shouldn't fly, then they tell us we have to vigorously exercise our wings to help them heal. I'm honestly getting mixed signals here."

I grinned as I nodded in agreement. "Well, they are the professionals, they know what they're doing after all. It also makes sense, due to how it would keep blood going through our wings while stretching them out." My face became more serious as I turned to my sister. "Now, I take it you're ready to talk about your time under Blister?"

Sara sighed as she looked away. "I knew you would want to talk about this." Sara turned towards me, though she kept her head hung low. "Look Jack, it's just hard to talk about, you know? And I wouldn't want to have to bother you with it and all…"

"You won't be bothering me with your problems Sara. I'm your brother, and we have each other so we can always look out for one another. I've already told you many of the problems I've faced since I've been here, now please, tell me what happened to you." I said, giving my sister a sincere look.

Sara sighed as she looked up at me. "Alright then. I'll start from the beginning. When I first arrived here, I was worried and confused and...afraid. I was afraid for the longest time, not just for my safety in the strange world I had arrived in, but for your safety. When I first learned about where I might find you, I immediately went after you, and I even fought a few Mudwings that got in my way."

I stayed silent as she continued. "When I arrived in the Seawing kingdom, it wasn't long after you and your friends left. I arrived to the still simering ashes of the Summer Palace, and that's when I first met _her."_ Sara stopped for a moment, her talons clenching before continuing.

"She told me that she knew you, and had been captured by one of her sisters in the recent attack. I was devastated, but she offered me a proposal I couldn't refuse. If I were to come and join her side and help her fight, she would help me rescue you."

"Looking back, I should have known it was a trick, but I was so excited over the fact that I would finally be able to fight and it would be me saving you, and I was so worried about your safety and if you were still fine that I just...just focus on what was right."

"When I first arrived, I was introduced to my mentor, Scorpion, Blister's best assassin. After reluctantly accepting me as a student, he began teaching me the ways of an assassin. Lockpicking, stealth, claw to claw combat, you name it, I was taught it. I learned how to sneak through the camp with ease, even though I stuck out in a camp full of Sandwings. I stole, lied and fought while I learned under Scorpion."

Sara stopped for a moment, as if she didn't want to say anymore, before taking a deep breath and continuing. "The worst part was that I loved it. I loved the thrill of sneaking, spying, stealing, because there was always the threat of a fight around the corner. And I loved to fight, and so I sparred with Scorpion, soldiers, even the chefs. The only dragon I didn't fight in the camp was Blister, and at the time I thought it was due to respect, but now I know that it was out of fear."

"The thing is, when we were finally given our first mission, to go and kill the dragonets of destiny, I agreed without a second thought. It wasn't until afterwards when I was given some advice and learned who the dragonets actually were that I began to have second thoughts, and then regrets about what I was doing."

Sara stopped for a moment more, and looking closely, I could see tears welling up in her eyes. "But that wasn't the worst part. Our specific mission was to kill the dragonets and the one that was helping them." As she said that, tears began to fall. "If I hadn't chosen to spare the dragonets, I would have tried to kill you, the one person I came here to protect."

I went over to comfort her, but she shrugged off my wing as she went on. "When I went into the rainforest after dealing with Scorpion and met the dragonets, I still had second thoughts. But when they found out I was your sister and told me you were there and were their friend, along with the one helping them, I nearly broke. I felt betrayed, knowing Blister had lied to me that whole time, and thus dedicated myself to the dragonets until your return."

"Even now though, I feel so much happiness when we fight. I love the feel of adrenaline going through my veins, the thought crossing my mind of "it's either them or me", and even though I know it's wrong, I can't stop myself." At this point, she was crying fully, tears running down her face in a stream as I managed to put my wing around her and pull her close. "I'm nothing more than a monster. A violent, fighting obsessed monster."

"No." I said, speaking up at last. Sara stopped talking, looking up at me while her tears continued to fall. "You are my sister Sara, and if there is anything I have learned in my time here, then that is you are who you choose to be, not what everyone else makes you out to be. If you truly don't want to be a monster, than you aren't a monster. All it takes is a little effort. Think about the negatives of fighting, and how it can affect everyone in the future. Be yourself, and don't be afraid of what you may or may not do."

"But what if one day I go too far?" Sara said, barely whispering the question. "What if one day, I swing my claws wrong, or hit too hard, and I kill someone? And what if...I like it?" She began crying once more, the fear of that happening overtaking her.

I clutched her shoulders and stared at her in her tear filled eyes. "That will never happen." I said as surely as possible before hugging her. "And if it somehow does, I will still love you, and I will help you. I won't leave your side sis, not for a while. And while I'm here, I will always help you. If I have to, I will be there to steer you back in the right direction once more."

After a few moments of silence, Sara opened her wings and returned the hug, gripping me deeply. "Thank you Jack. You really do mean alot to me. You've been the best brother a sister could ask for." She sniffed, trying to get ahold of herself before relaxing. "I hope the day we have to leave each other won't be soon."

As she said that, I couldn't help but feel extremely guilty, knowing that that day would be within a year. I patted Sara on the back, knowing I still had to tell her I would be staying here, along with reminding myself that I would have to spend more time with her. "Me too Sara. Me too."

 _The next day, around noon…_

Walking along the sand of the bottom of the Summer Palace, I couldn't help but stare into the water and see my reflection staring back at me. I was transfixed as I stared into it, seeing who I was now. A small part of me still didn't believe that that was me looking back at me in the water, and it made sense, even after all the time I had been here.

Even after around half a year of being a dragon, it didn't contend with several years of being a human. My two sides conflicted with each other, making me question which was better: a pacifist but antisocial human, or a dragon with friends, but was forced to fight for his life almost every month?

Sure, I had made the decision to stay in this world, but there was still doubt in my mind. Technically, I shouldn't even be in this world, and yet here I wanting to stay, even though I knew that meant abandoning my sister and parents. A new thought crept up my mind, making me realize that I would also be giving up something else: my humanity.

If I stayed here, I would be declaring myself a dragon and no longer a human. Sure, they were basically the same in intelligence and personality, but it meant that I would have to give up my world in a whole to live in one where people are just considered animals, even though they really are still intelligent.

With all these dilemmas fueling my mind, I didn't notice the sound of frantic wingbeats behind me, or the fact that I had stopped walking. While I continued to stare into the water, I was thankfully ripped from my thoughts by a hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw that it was one of the Seawing guards.

"Excuse me sir, but I was told to inform you that Tempest has finally woken up." When the guard said that, my face broke into a smile, but their grim expression made it quickly dissipate. "You'll have to approach with caution sir. Since she woke up, she's been violent to anyone that gets too close to her, screaming about not letting us "take her back"." The guard explained.

I nodded as I opened my wings. "I'll be careful then, but hopefully I won't need to be. Thank you for telling me." The guard nodded as I began my series of short flights upwards to where Tempest's cave was, which, unfortunately for me, was near the very top.

After a few minutes of climbing my way to the tops, I finally reached Tempest's cave. Standing near the front of it were two guards who easily let me through when I arrived. Walking in, I could tell it was a deeper cave, and, after a minute of looking around, I realized it was similar to the prison cells that the dragonets and I had been trapped in when we were last here, though with only one large cell at the end.

When I reached the end, I was greeted by Sealion and the roaring of the water falling, showing only a blue shape on the other side who appeared to have their head in their hands, who I could only guess was Tempest. Turning towards Sealion, I winced when I saw the side of his face, which had a still bleeding but bandaged scratch across it.

Sealion nodded at my reaction. "Hello Static. As you should have been told, Tempest is awake, but so far has only showed hostility when anyone has approached her. She seemed fine when she first awoke, but the second she saw us, her eyes seemed to...shrink, before she went into a violent frenzy. I tired to talk to her, but…" He reflexively reached towards his cut, before sighing.

I nodded before looking towards the shape of Tempest. "How is she now?" I asked, starting to feel great concern for my friend.

"After we lowered the water and we were out of sight, she seemed to calm down. We can talk to her through the water, and she seems like her normal self, but the second she sees us, she flips. When we explained this to her, she began crying, mumbling something about really having "her mother's eyes".

Walking over to the chains, I gripped one before turning to Sealion. "You still have that explanation about Tempest's past for me. For now though, I'm going to go talk to her and test out a theory I have about what might be going on. If you could duck around the corner for a second, it would be appreciated."

Sealion nodded as he walked over and I began to pull the chains in the direction to shut off the water. "Alright, I'm trusting you Static, but please do be careful. I can only imagine how Tempest would feel if she accidentally hurt her friend."

Once he was out of sight, I finished turning off the water, and was greeted to the sight of Tempest sobbing into her talons. I quickly hopped over to the island she was sitting at, though I didn't see any eels swimming about, thankfully, since that would only make things worse for Tempest.

She continued to cry as I walked up to her, either not noticing my presence or too afraid to look up. I proceeded to wrap a wing around her, making her stop crying and her body to freeze. "Hey Tempest, long time no see. It's good to see you again, especially in better conditions."

"Go away." Tempest said softly. "I don't want my eyes to lie to me, I don't want the claws of death to scratch other's scales…..and I don't want to hurt you." Tempest said as she pushed my wing off with her own as she curled in on herself more strongly.

"That's not going to happen Tempest. I'm not about to let a friend suffer, especially not by themselves. I'm here to help you, and I can guarantee that when you look at me, you'll be just fine."

Tempest was silent for a second, as if in decision, before lifting her head enough to shake it. "No, I won't do it. If I look at you, mother's eyes will show me lies, and I won't be me anymore. Then they'll be right, and you'll hate me." At that, Tempest began to cry once more.

I looked sadly down at my friend. I had dealt with a lot, but I had no idea how to deal with this. Shaking my head, I decided to wing it, and thus proceeded to pull Tempest into another hug with my wing. "Tempest, I don't know you "they" are, but if they think that I will hate you, then they are wrong. I swear to you with every ounce of my being that your eyes won't lie, and you'll be fine. So please, look at me."

Tempest began shaking, and, after a minute, began to lift her head. Slowly, she turned her head to me, her eyes slammed shut before slowly opening them. Her eyes adjusted to the light for a moment before focusing on me, showing me her normal gaze, the only exception being the tears at the corner of her eyes as she realized she could look at me, and thus wrapped me in a hug of her own.

After a long and well needed hug, I let go, and after a second, Tempest did the same. She looked at me with a large smile, tears streaming down her face. "You were right. It's so good to see you again savior of the skies."

I smiled back at her as I tipped my head. "That's another new title I've been given since I've arrived. But thank you Tempest, it's good to see you again as well." After standing there for a second, I slowly began to speak. "I'm so sorry you had to go what you went through. Do you want to talk about it?"

Tempest froze for a second, before quickly shaking her head and looking away. "I'd rather not. The shocks, the fear...it was horrible. If we can just not talk about it, I'd be thankful." Tempest closed her eyes as new tears appeared, in which she opened her eyes and stared down at her talons. "By the skies, what have these daggers of life _done?"_ Tempest asked, not taking her gaze away.

At least, not until I pulled her hands down. "That was in the past, and that wasn't you. Now please, try to calm down. You are yourself right now, no one else." Tempest nodded as she began to take deep breaths, calming herself down. "Now, I believe I might know what your problem is, but I have to try a few experiments before I'm sure. Do you trust me to help you Tempest?"

Tempest looked at me uncertainty for a second before nodding. "I trust you Static. Just please, don't let these daggers harm another scale, please." She said, holding up her talons once more.

I nodded before calling down the tunnel. "Sealion, don't step out yet, but if you could please go and get my friends, it would be appreciated. It's part of my experiment, and it is absolutely important that no Seawings come into this tunnel too soon." Tempest looked down the tunnel hopefully and sadly as we awaited an answer.

"Alright, I'm trusting you on this Static, and I'll be back with your friends soon. I hope you know what you're doing though." And with that, we heard wingbeats as he flew away to get my friends.

While Tempest and I waited for him, we made small talk. Tempest didn't have much to say, so I mainly talked, telling her about what I had been doing the last months. She stayed silent for a long time, until I finally got to the part about why I came here.

"You came here looking for your dragon of the sea, and I was your best candidate." Tempest explained for me, and after a moment of hesitation, I nodded. "I would love to join you. I'm going to avoid any fighting as much as I can allow my scales to, for not wanting _her_ to resurface, but I can still help you in your quest."

I shook my head. "I did come here to ask you to join us, but I'm not certain anymore Tempest. It isn't your fault, but you've already been through alot and I don't want to have to put you through any more pain or fighting."

Tempest was silent for a second before shaking her head back at me. "Static, I need to get out of here. Whenever I see someone I felt I once knew, I lose myself. The rage of the lost one takes over, and I can't stop the talons of taking from consuming more. If I stay, I will either be put down like an animal or imprisoned."

At that, Tempest looked at me, staring deep into my eyes as she continued. "But you, the harbinger of peace and the stranger of the skies, Static, the savior, hero, and most importantly, _my friend_. You can help me, to save me from what those monsters made of my talons. I know in my heart and in my soul Static, you can help me through this."

I was shocked while also a bit concerned over what she had said. I could tell that her torture had hurt her on more than just a murderous level, and she honestly believed that I was the only one that could help her. After a minute of silence, I looked back at her, not realizing I had been looking at the ground after she finished. "Why?" I asked. "Why me? Why not somebody, anybody else?"

Tempest gave me a sincere look as she explained. "Because you are honestly the only one who can help me. I can't even look at someone who had raised me before I attacked him in a fit of rage for no reason. But you have done so much, saved so many dragons, even stopped a war that had been going on for several years. If there is anyone that can help me, than it is you."

Once more, I was shocked, for two reasons. The first being that this was the first time I had heard Tempest speak normally for more than a single sentence. The second being how much she trusted me, and how, in truth, I had done everything she had described, even if I was just helping. I smiled back at Tempest as I heard a flurry of wingbeats outside the cave. "Thanks Tempest." I said, in which she nodded as I turned towards the cave entrance.

"Alright, I want everyone coming in one at a time, and I would still like for you to wait outside Sealion. Once everyone else has come in and I have determined everything is safe, I'll tell you when to come in."

After a second and a bit of shuffling outside, Sealion replied. "Alright, I trust you know what you're doing. But the second something goes wrong, which it hopefully won't, just call out and I'll get everyone back to safety." I yelled an agreement along with telling the first dragon to step forward.

The first dragon to step up was Sara, which didn't really help my experiment as she walked up and jumped over to us. "Hello Tempest, it is good to finally meet you. My name is Spark, and I am Static's sister." She explained while smiling softly at Tempest.

Tempest smiled back and shook Sara's talons, saying how nice it was to finally meet her as the next dragon stepped forwards. This time it was Asteroid, who flinched for a second as she walked forwards. "Hello, my name is Asteroid, and I am our Nightwing. Your mind is quite...tangled, like a labyrinth. It will be interesting to see where you go, and which paths you will take through it."

As Asteroid finished, Tempest took her greeting in stride, as if expecting it, saying how she hoped they would be able to keep her on the right paths. Next came Singularity, who quickly bounded over in a colourful explosion of colors full of excitement as she began shaking Tempest's talons quickly. "Hi, my name's Singularity, and it's so nice to finally meet you! Static has told us so much about you, and I'm so excited to see if you're as much fun as he says!"

Tempest was grinning ear to ear at Singularity, saying how she was excited to see what they would get to do together in the future. Sahara came walking over, the final dragon in our group to introduce herself. "Hello Tempest. My name is Sahara, and I'm glad our efforts weren't in vain in trying to save you. I'm curious to see what you're like, and where the future will take us."

Nodding, Tempest agreed, saying that the future was a curious thing and how she wondered what it would be like to go on adventures with our group, even though I still felt mildly apprehensive about bringing her with us. With everyone here, I now knew that Tempest was fine being in the presence of Sara and I, Sandwings, Rainwings, and Nightwings. I was also certain that if she saw a Skywing, Icewing or Mudwing, she would be just fine.

Now, however, was for the moment of truth. "Alright, everyone, it's time for me to test something, so I'm going to need your help." After saying this, I soon had everyone's attention, with my friends willing to help. "I'm going to let Sealion in in a moment, and at first, I need you to keep your eyes closed Tempest. Everyone else, I need you ready to grab her just in case for when I tell her to open her eyes. If her reaction is violent, I will need you to hold her while I cover her eyes over. I'll explain more afterwards, but please, if you would help, it would be appreciated."

The others nodded in agreement, though some like Singularity and Sara looking mildly confused as they moved into position, meanwhile Tempest shut her eyes. I stood next to Singularity in front of Tempest, with my wing open so I could quickly lower it in front of Tempest's face if needed. "Alright Sealion, you can come forward, but only up until the entrance of the cell."

Soon after I had said that, Sealion appeared as he rounded the corner and approached us. He looked slightly saddened at all of us ready to stop Tempest, but understood why. "Alright, now what?" He called over to us once he stood about twenty feet away from us.

"Now, Tempest, open your eyes." I said. Tempest nodded, though still reluctant for a moment, before her eyes opened. As they fluttered open, they seemed to look around in adjustment before locking onto Sealion. The second Tempest saw his blue green scales, her pupils shrank just like before, and she immediately tried to jump forwards.

She was unsuccessful, thankfully, as the others quickly grabbed ahold of her, though she began thrashing mildly until I quickly lowered my wing, preventing her from seeing Sealion. Her frantic movements slowed down, until about less than a minute later her pupils went back to normal, and Tempest began looking around confusedly, meanwhile the others looked at her in shock and confusion while Sealion shook his head.

I nodded my suspicions being proven correct, though I still had one more test. "Alright, Tempest, I need you to keep your eyes shut now, and try talking to Sealion, though don't open your eyes no matter what, alright?" Tempest looked scared for a moment, realizing she had just lost herself for a moment again, before nodding and shutting her eyes.

"Sealion, are you there?" Tempest asked, pointing her head in the direction of Sealion, though keeping her eyes shut. "I'm so, so sorry about your scales. If it weren't for these claws and these eyes of the trickster, I wouldn't have harmed you. If you're there, please, I'm just so, so sorry." As Tempest said this, she began shaking, fresh tears being formed.

"Tempest, please don't cry." Sealion said, in which Tempest immediately froze. "I know that wasn't you, and I can see now that it isn't your fault for attacking anyone. Especially not after everything you went through. So please, don't cry, because you're not the first dragon to hurt me on accident, and these old scales can take a few scratches anyway. I'm fine, and I hope you are too."

I nodded as they continued talking, with Tempest extremely happy to be able to speak to Sealion once more, even if she couldn't see him. They talked about how they were doing, and how happy they were to find out they were now safe. While they talked, I excused my group to the side, though I stayed closest to Tempest, ready to jump if she accidentally opened her eyes.

"So Jack, what is going on?" Singularity asked as I walked over to them. "One second we're meeting this super awesome dragon that we went through a lot to save, next moment we're holding her back from ripping open a dragon's face, and then she's having an emotional talk with him with her eyes closed? What's going on here?"

"Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD for short." I explained, in which Sara sadly nodded in understanding while looking over to Tempest while the others looked at me confusedly. "It's a condition where those affected by great emotional or physical pain can be triggered by a source and then break out into an emotional episode. In the case of Tempest, due to how she was tortured by Seawings, her mind now associates them with pain, and thus makes her react violently when she sees them."

"So how do we help her?" Sahara asked, now keeping an eye on Tempest as well. "It sounds like you know a lot about this, so is there any form of cure that we can use to help her?"

I shook my head. "Not that I know of, other than time. A blindfold while we're around other Seawings should keep her from reacting violently, but it seems that she won't be able to live normally with her own tribe, at least not for a while."

"So no matter what, our best bet is to bring her with us." Asteroid said. "We would keep her away from other Seawings mostly, and our travels could keep her mind off of what happened to her. While we're traveling, we can try to help her, and maybe by the time we're done, she can go back to living normally."

Sara shook her head. "I doubt we'll be able to cure her within less than a year. There were people affected by it their whole lives, though I do agree that bringing her with us would be for the best. If we didn't, she would either be locked up or be forced to be blindfolded forever, which I could only imagine would be exceptionally difficult underwater."

I nodded in agreement, though I still felt bad about the decision as I looked over at Tempest, who was now having a conversation to Sealion about the theory of gravity. She had gone through so much, and we would be going through much more before our journey was over. Still, we were the best candidates to help her, and I could only hope that we would be able to get her through this.

But we still had the rest of the week to get through, so it at least gave me time to plan. I just hoped nothing worse would happen in the immediate future, since now I knew we all needed a break.

 **Author's note: Woot, another week, another slightly extended chapter by about a thousand words (2 google doc pages for me). The thing is, I wanted to get in much more, but then I realized the chapter was not only going over my usual count (which isn't a bad thing), but it's time for me to post this chapter. So, next week we'll be learning Tempest's backstory, along with continuing the journey, this time searching for the Mudwing companion. And it's going to be a guy dragon this time! I honestly don't know why so many of the co's sent to me are female btw, it just happened. Anyhow, yes, I do read your comments, it's just sometimes by the time I write the author's note I forget to answer them (I'M SO SORRY). Anyhow, thank you all for your support, all of you reading this means so much to me, and the next chapter will be out next week.**


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

It was now the fifth day of our recovery, and things were looking up for once. Everyone was healing nicely, and most of us could finally fly again, though only for short periods. Tempest was also happy she was able to roam and talk with the Seawing guards she knew, though she was blindfolded with some cloth I had packed and the rest of us had been rotating who was helping her move around.

As I sat on top of the destroyed pavillion with my maps sprayed out in front of me while I planned where we would go next (which was to be the Mudwing Kingdom), I heard a flurry of wingbeats behind me as someone landed behind me. Looking back, I saw that it was Sealion, who was looking more cheerful now that Tempest was doing better.

"Hello Static." He said as he walked up to me. "I see you've got several maps in front of you. Planning to get going already, I take it?" He asked as he sat himself down across from me, meanwhile I nodded and went back to my maps.

"Yes, and as much as the rest has been good for everyone, it's not just me that's ready to get moving once more. Many of us can't wait to fully stretch out our wings again, and we want to get this trip done with as quickly as possible." I wasn't going to mention how Tempest also looked forward to being able to see again, since that would only make Sealion feel worse.

"Alright then, I can understand wanting to get something done quickly, and I won't press you for information since I was already informed by Tempest that your journey isn't to spread." I had already talked to Tempest about everything, including how I was actually human. She took it as expected, which was nodding and saying she had already assumed as much. "While you're still here though, I figured it was about time to talk about Tempest." When Sealion said this, his face took a serious turn, and I nodded as I began putting my maps away.

"I've been looking forward to this talk, you know." I said as I finished rolling up the parchments and putting them back into my bag. "With everything that has happened and has been said, I really want to know more about Tempest, and I feel like the only dragon that knows the real answers are you. So why don't we start from the beginning, or whatever works best for you?"

Sealion nodded in agreement. "The beginning works just fine. It all started during the early years of the war, two years after the death of the Sandwing Queen Oasis, Commander Tempest had an egg, an egg that even when asked, she would not reveal who the father was. That egg, as many have rumored, was Tempest's, or more specifically, Tempest the second."

"When Tempest hatched several months later, appearing to be the splitting image of her mother with the only difference being the color of her eyes, a bright amber as you've seen, the Seawings had joined Blister in fighting the war, with the Commander quickly taking her duty seriously. She became so busy leading fights and creating strategies with the Queen that she never made time for her daughter, who was instead raised by the soldiers and dragons working at the Summer Palace. She was kept there due to how the Commander believed that if she were raised on land more than the water, she would fight better on land if the war was still going on when she was fully grown."

"Now I know what you might be thinking, and no, the Commander wasn't a bad mother. If anything, I believe the reason she kept Tempest there was to keep her away from the war and herself. I had talked to the Commander many times, and I could tell that she was afraid of being a mother, especially since she had many duties while being in such a position of power during one of the largest wars we had ever fought. There were less soldiers at the Summer Palace than the Deep Palace, and thus, Tempest grew up hardly even being aware there was a war."

"It didn't take long for several dragons to notice that Tempest was...different. When she learned to speak, she spoke in riddles, often confusing many that she talked to into leaving her alone, which I believe only made things worse. I was actually the one who taught her Aquatic, due to how no one else would and it gave me something to do in my breaks from patrolling the Summer Palace. And believe me that she's only more confusing when she tries to talk underwater. It's like a personal lightshow with riddles mixed into it." Sealion said while grinning.

"Tempest only met her mother on three different occasions, the only one I believe being the final one. The Commander first met Tempest soon after she had hatched, and I heard that her expression was that of pride and fear. Pride for her daughter, fear for her safety. The second time was at Tempest's fifth hatching day, where the Commander walked in, hugged her daughter, wrapped a coral bracelet studded with a single pearl around her left arm, and left. Tempest took it off at first, confused as to who the dragon was, but when I explained that it was her mother, I haven't seen her take it off since."

I blinked for a second before quickly glancing over the edge of the pavillion. Looking around for a moment, a finally found Tempest, who was hanging upside down using her tail while flailing her arms around, meanwhile Singularity was laughing while Sahara was rolling her eyes and grinning. Looking at her left arm, sure enough was a purple coral bracelet that I hadn't noticed before, a shining pearl wrapped in the center of it.

When I got back up, Sealion continued, though he looked saddened. "The last time the two saw each other was the day before the Commander was killed. It had been a little over a year since Tempest's last hatching day, and she had been displeased when her mother hadn't made an appearance. When the Commander did show up, she spoke to Tempest the only words that I believe she had ever spoken to her daughter while embracing her in a deep hug."

"She said "No matter what happens, I have and will always love you. I may know be the best mother, and you may not be a normal dragonet from what I've heard, but please know that I still love you either way. The future is uncertain, but no matter what, never follow my footsteps and join the fight. I need you to tell me, no, _promise_ me you won't ever join the war, and you'll be a helpful and kind dragon instead. You'll work in some other duty, being helpful, so helpful that maybe the Queen will even want your help."

"Tempest looked up and replied "I promise I won't shed more red for the battle that grew larger than it should have been, and that I'll aid those that need help in their lives...mother." The commander gave Tempest one last smile at her reply before leaving, in which she wouldn't return."

"I'm not sure if she somehow knew about her fate or not, but either way she chose to say a great thing to Tempest, who began helping everyone in every aspect that she could, even if the ways she accomplished some things were different than normal. She grew up as a kind soul, and I honestly believe that the Queen would have one day made her work for her at the palace and never have to fight if the war had continued for longer."

I nodded in agreement, now understanding why Tempest was so willing to help out a random dragon that wasn't even a Seawing a few months back, and I couldn't help but smile at having such a nice friend such as herself. Sealion agreed with my smile, smiling himself as he looked over the edge at Tempest's current antics, which was seeing how much seaweed she could coil around Sara's horns while still being blindfolded.

"So overall, Tempest was a dragonet hatched at the wrong time with no clue as to who her father was and her mother being too busy with the war to care for her. Over time, due to being ignored and not raised properly along with whatever might be the cause for her being herself, she became the dragon we see today in the way she speaks and acts, though tries to help anyone she can due to the final request from her mother, who regretted not being able to spend as much time with her."

Sealion nodded at my recap. "That sums it up pretty well, yes. Talking with Tempest though, the reason she says her mother's eyes appear when she loses herself is for two reasons. One, her mother had a strong and commanding gaze, one that led and inspired many dragons while threatening any enemies with death. The other being that if she were to harm another dragon, her mother's eyes would stare at her and judge her for her actions, since it would be breaking her promise."

I recognized his explanation, due to how it made much sense. She had her mother's eyes when she fought since they would be those of a fighter's, and they would be watching her to see what actions she took. I once more felt sympathy towards my friend, hoping she wouldn't have to experience that again.

Raising my hand up, I grasped Sealion's hand in a handshake. "Thank you for taking the time to listen to her story Static, and for being her friend. She's gone too long without having another dragon know all the details, especially one that cares for her safety as much as I do. Be sure to keep her safe out there, and thank you for deciding to help her."

I smiled back at Sealion as I let go of his hand. "Don't worry, I'll keep her safe. She's gone through so much already, and I wouldn't want to put her through any more. Besides, I'm her friend, it's my job to help her out."

Pleased with my answer, Sealion nodded before opening his wings and jumping off the pavilion, leaving me to myself once more. I took a moment to collect myself, having just been given a lot of new information to process about my friend. But in the end, nothing had really changed, since it would only affect my relationship with Tempest by now knowing a bit more about her.

With that done, I went back to planning out which flight routes and how often we would have to be walking on our way to the Mudwing Kingdom, which would take a few extra days now that we couldn't fly there the whole time. I sighed as I pulled out my map and compass, which actually did work like a normal compass as well as its animus enchantment, and began to get back to work.

 _A few days later, having been one week since rescuing Tempest, on the outside of the Summer Palace…_

Taking in a deep breath, I was pleased to have the outside air fill my lungs and the warm feeling on my scales as the sun rose over us. It was almost noon and today was the day that we were scheduled to begin moving once more, this time with Tempest joining us.

As I looked over to see how everyone was doing, I was pleased to find them all ready to go as well, their bags already being worn. There were still a few noticeable scratches on some of us, having not fully healed yet, but for the most part everyone looked perfectly healthy and ready to move once more.

I turned to Sealion, who was the last Seawing still here of the guards other than the medical dragons that were looking after us, who were currently talking with Singularity and making sure that she had all the right balms and other medicines for us to continue using, saying it would be a little over another week before we could fully fly again.

While I went to talk with Sealion, Asteroid guided Tempest over to me, wanting to speak to him as well. "Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye." Sealion said as he finished approaching us as well. "You make sure to stay safe, and that's towards both of you, and good luck on your journey, whatever it might be. I'm confident it's important, and after getting to know you both, I'm certain you're the right dragons for the job."

I grinned at Sealion while Tempest smiled as well. "Thank you for your support. If we ever need any help, we'll be certain to come back for it. Thank you so much for helping my friends and I recover this past week as well."

Sealion waved a talon after I spoke. "No need to thank me, I was just doing my job." He then turned to Tempest. "Now Tempest, be sure to stay safe out there, and try your best to get better. Good luck once more to both of you, I'm sure you'll need it."

Tempest quickly grabbed Sealion and flung her arms and wings around him, pulling him into a hug. "I'll try to return as soon as my predicament can be solved, one way or another. I can't wait to see you once more, my friend. Be sure to stay safe as well, and avoid the purple oysters."

Sealion smiled softly as he returned her hug. I left the two of them there, allowing them to have their moment as I went to make sure that everyone else was ready to go. Looking over I could see Singularity waving to the two medical dragons as they dived back into the water from the beach, meanwhile Sara was still picking seaweed out of her horns from Tempest's shenanigans.

I decided to walk up to Sahara, who was currently messing with her necklace. "Hey Sahara, something wrong with your necklace?" I asked, making her look up from what she was doing. She let the necklace drop out of her claws and fall back into the center of her scar while sighing.

"Unfortunately, yes. I have no idea how to get it to work. I've been trying for the last several days, that way I could speed up our healing process, but ever since the...incident with you at the Sandwing castle, I haven't been able to get it to work."

"Maybe that's for the best." I said, making her look at me in confusion. "From what I've seen, animus magic is tricky. We have no way of fully determining what the necklace does other than it cured my serious burn wounds. We don't know if it has a limited charge or was a single usage, or if it takes anything from the user after being used. I'd say unless it's an emergency we should probably leave it alone."

Sahara looked like she was going to protest, but sighed before nodding her head. "Yes, that's certainly for the best. After all, we're on this quest due to animus magic, and there's no telling what this necklace actually does. I would still like to know how to use it in case an emergency does arise, but I'll listen to you for now and leave it alone."

I nodded, smiling as I quickly hugged her, trying to make her less sad. She tensed up for a moment before relaxing and returning the hug, in which a few seconds later we both let go, in which I went to see if everyone was ready to go while Sahara kept smiling.

Checking with everyone else, I soon found that we were all ready to go, with Tempest waving off to Sealion as he dived into the ocean, leaving just us. I decided to speak and tell everyone the new flight plan I had created yesterday.

"Okay everyone, here's our plan. Due to how several of us are still recovering fully from our injuries, especially in our wings, we'll be only taking short flights every couple of hours. Unfortunately, that means we'll be doing a lot more walking than normal, which will also take us longer. I've estimated it will probably take us around a week to get to the Mudwing Kingdom, which will be our next destination. Any questions?" I asked.

Asteroid spoke up first. "Yes, in fact. Do we have a specific Mudwing in mind, and are there going to be any known obstacles in our way this time that we should be ready for?"

I shook my head. "No to both. The Mudwing Kingdom is essentially a swamp, so be ready to get your claws muddy. The only obstacle we should run into is actually finding a Mudwing willing to join us. Mudwings are very family oriented and live in large groups usually. It will probably be difficult for us to find someone that's alone or willing to temporarily part with their brothers and sisters, but hopefully we'll manage."

Everyone acknowledged my answer, though Singularity's nose wrinkled in distaste when I mentioned the muddy terrain. After double checking with everyone and making sure everyone had their supplies, we all prepared to leave. I saw Tempest taking one last look at the ocean now that her blindfold was off, before we all opened our wings and took off into the sky.

We flew for about an hour, and we were all making small talk as we made our way to the mainland. I made certain that someone would tell me the second their wings started acting up, and I still kept an eye on everyone as we continued making our way across the sky. As we flew, we talked about our time at the Summer Palace, along with everyone fully integrating Tempest into the group, which was nice, as she began smiling just like she had when I first met her.

Around the two our mark, land was finally viewable. Deeming it about time to give our wings a break, I told everyone to land once we got to the shore, and a few minutes later, we did. When we did, I felt my wings droop in exhaustion as I waited for everyone to group up, and once we were all together again, we began making our way Southwest, towards the Mudwing Kingdom.

Walking definitely slowed down our progress, but it gave us more time to talk and get to know each other better. We spoke about several different topics, such as what our lives had been through the past few years (which apparently Sara and I had the most interesting stories to tell), to our favorite stories and even hopes for the future.

When the topic was brought up about what we hoped the future would be like, I turned towards Asteroid, who was the one who had asked the question. "What do you mean, Asteroid? As in what we'll do when this is all over?" I asked.

Asteroid shrugged. "If that's how you want to put it, then sure. I'm just asking because usually if I have a specific event or person to think about, it will give me visions of their futures whenever I do have a vision, instead of the next major event that will occur, which has been happening lately, and I would really like to see something else when I go to sleep."

I nodded, though decided to ask her what visions she's been seeing. "A mixture of the prophecy I've already told you and the two possible outcomes of our journey." Asteroid said, which caught everyone's attention. "The one vision I've seen the most is of our failure, making it more possible. All I see is fire over the land and a dragon's shadow clawing its way across everything, disasters of every shape and size following it."

"The other vision is a bit better, though I've only seen it twice. It shows us all living our normal lives, though still friends that talk and meet quite often, and the world is at peace, no one but those that we tell ever even knowing of the dangers we saved them from, for if we were to tell the story, all I can see is that there would be future consequences."

Everyone was starting to look a bit grim at this point, so I decided to shift the topic back to the original question. "Well, I guess when it comes to the future, I mainly have to find a way home." The others looked a bit saddened at this, all but Asteroid and Singularity, who knew the truth but not the complications in my head, and Sara, who knew full well that she at least was going to go home.

"I guess I'll help out with whatever Queen Glory needs from me at first, but I want to see more of the world myself." Singularity said. "There's been so much to see and yet there's still more to explore, and I know there must be something beyond just Pyrrhia to explore."

"When it comes to the future, I don't know what I'll do yet." Sahara said, looking at the sky as we passed into a clearing from the woods, her face deep in thought. "I guess I wouldn't mind staying with the Outclaws, or whatever they are now. Maybe I could learn to play an instrument; there are plenty of Sandwing musicians after all."

"My talons will be used to spread the word of many pictures!" Tempest said excitedly. "Of course, many will wonder if I licked one of those strange frogs I've heard about in the rainforest (which could actually be quite fun), but I'm sure that with my ideas, my art will be stared at by many sets of peculiar eyes!"

"What about you, Asteroid?" Sara asked, looking at the dragon in question. "Aside from what you've probably seen in your visions, what do you hope to do in your future?"

Asteroid looked around at all of us for a second before shrugging. "I honestly don't know yet. All these years I've been so focused on family and survival that I haven't given it much thought. I'm not like the rest of my tribe and no one there knows me anyway, and most dragons would just try to use me for my powers. What is a dragon with my abilities exactly supposed to do with their life?"

"Live as much as you want to, and do whatever makes you happy." I responded as I climbed over a fallen tree. "The only one who decides your future is yourself, and if you're willing to go through all of the obstacles that will stand in your way to get there. The only way you will be happy is if you find out what exactly makes you happy, and to keep doing it."

There was silence for a second, so I decided to turn around and check on Asteroid. She was currently staring at me with a smile and a head turned sideways in confusion. "No matter how much I see inside that head of yours, you still manage to surprise me with your knowledge and advice. Thanks Jack."

"No problem, I'm always happy to help. You be sure to keep thinking about that question yourself, alright? I hope we'll all be able to find our own places in the world once this is all over, and it's good to see everyone with great goals."

Asteroid nodded as we kept moving, our conversations going back to normal once more, such as favorite rainforest fruits and how the universe was created. Yeah, our conversations took strange turns (mostly due to Tempest), but they kept things interesting, along with making Sara and I wish we had paid more attention in our classes.

After a while, we reached another clearing in which we took a short break. After we took time to rest and eat, we soon found ourselves back in the sky, once more using our wings and flying across the sky, in which we would land and begin walking for a few more hours later.

This was how things went for the next five days, with us not running into any trouble. We did manage to run into a group of Mudwings who told us we were heading the right direction, and that there was nothing stopping us from entering the Mudwing Kingdom.

The only problem I had that only Sara and Sahara noticed as well was the ominous feeling of being watched, though Asteroid told us that if we were, they weren't close enough for her to hear them. Either way, I made sure to keep the night watch system going, paranoid that we were being followed, and I could only hope that the mad Sandwing wasn't still after us.

When we finally did arrive at the Mudwing Kingdom, we all instantly knew that we had, in fact, arrived. The humidity had noticeably increased, and there was less solid ground, much of it being replaced with mud. There were less trees as well, giving us a better view of the landscape ahead of us.

The land looked much like how most swamps did, though was vastly larger than any I had ever seen. There were also large muddy clearings were huts could be seen, and the colors of browns, coppers other darker colors could be seen from the scales of several Mudwings going about their normal days.

Now that we had arrived, Singularity decided to ask the question on everyone's mind. "So, now that we are here, what do we do now?" Everyone looked towards me when this was asked, as I was the appointed leader and had done all of the planning beforehand.

"I honestly have no idea." I said, shrugging. "I guess we'll just go down there and ask around, see if there's anyone that will want to join us. We'll have to be clear that we only need one dragon, and also see if there is anyone that isn't in a group and is by themselves. So let's go, I guess."

The others nodded as we began making our way to the populated Mudwing village, in which our hunt for the Mudwing that would join our group would begin. Little did we know that over the next hill, staring down at our group, and more specifically me, were too beady eyes, filled with murderous intent.

However, little did this dragon know that he too was being watched, a pair of deep brown eyes observing the dragon as he watched the group as well from the comfort of his home, a ways away from the village. He could only presume the group would soon come to him, which would be a great time to warn them of the danger that they were obviously in.

 **Author's Note: Thank you all for reading yet another chapter in this story, your support and dedication means so much to me. This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but not by much, and that's just because I figured this to be a good point to end the chapter at.**

 **Anyhow, with us now being 36 chapters in and no plan on stopping soon, I do have a question to ask you, the readers. I will leave this question hanging for a bit so I can get everyone's opinion, but be sure to tell me what you think. So, I've been writing this story for a while now, and I do plan on finishing it. The only question is** _ **where**_ **to finish it. I was originally thinking of going through the second arc as well, but I honestly feel like when I end this story, it's going to be at the end of this adventure. The reason I think this is due to how it would give me a chance to write an epilogue, which I really want to do, along with, if I finish this story, I can begin doing actual story writing, which, when I do, I plan on creating a account for, so anyone can keep up with the original stories I will be writing if they want to. But that won't be for a while yet, and I still need to know where I should end the story. Should I end it when our hero's quest is over, or should I go through the second arc and delay my other writing further? The reason I ask this is because I want all of you to keep enjoying the story as long as you want it to, so be sure to tell me your opinion. Anyhow, thank you all so, so much for your support, and the next chapter will be up next week. (P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!)**


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

As we made our way into the Mudwing village, I began to wonder how they would react to our arrival. For the most part, I didn't know the Mudwings that well, having only known Clay as an example of them. Sure, I was introduced to his siblings who were nice enough, and I also met Queen Moorhen when I was with the dragonets during the end of the war, though I didn't really speak to her.

There was also the concept of my new title that I was informed about with my time with the Seawings, in which I was now titled "The Protector". Essentially, after talking to Sealion, I learned what the title meant. It essentially showed that I was a protector of the Dragonets of Destiny, ensuring their safety and the protection of Pyrrhia as a whole. Would have been good to know I had such a title beforehand, though the dragonets themselves probably didn't know at the time, though it doesn't explain why Queen Thorn didn't tell me, but it does explain why I've been treated so well everywhere I've gone.

I wasn't sure how to feel about my title, since it basically proclaimed me as a great hero, almost as great as the dragonets themselves, when really I was just a friend trying to help them out. Thankfully, it wasn't an official title, which is why there was no ceremony or anything, but it meant that I couldn't use it to do anything any other dragon couldn't do. It was still a title of some power though, due to how every dragon that knew of my title would know me as a hero.

Unfortunately, my wishful thinking that my title hadn't reached the Mudwings was quickly swept aside as we entered the village. We soon got several stares and whispers about us, specifically me in particular, such as "That's the Protector!", "What's the Protector doing here?", and "Who are those dragons with the Protector, and what are they doing here?".

Honestly, I was starting to feel a bit embarrassed about my title, not liking so many dragons looking at me at once or thinking that I was so important. Sure, I was currently striving to stop the world from ending while looking for a way home (which, sure, sounds kinda heroic and all), but I still wasn't different from anyone else, no matter how much the others told me otherwise.

Once we had walked into the village for a bit, i stopped walking in the middle of an intersection before facepalming, much to the surprise of my companions and confusing of the Mudwings watching us. Singularity came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder as she spoke. "Static, what's wrong? We're in the Mudwing village, after all."

I looked towards Singularity with a blank look. "But have we even begun asking anyone any questions yet?" Singularity blinked back at me. "We came here to look for a Mudwing, and yet, instead of starting at the edge and asking the first dragon we met, we have instead walked into the middle of their village with them not having any clues as to what we're doing here, along with not having asked anyone anything yet."

Singularity blinked for a second as the others all facepalmed as well, realizing our mistake. Thankfully, I wouldn't have to ask any random dragon what we were doing here now, due to how the surrounding Mudwings had heard what i had said. One Mudwing, a small though fully grown female with very light brown scales and large ears walked up to us, followed by two larger male Mudwings who looked related to her.

"Hello there, I heard you were looking for someone! Maybe I could help out with that." The small Mudwing said, looking very excited to be speaking to me. However, her two brothers, if I had to guess their relation, looked a bit unsure about me, though still curious.

"Well, I'm not looking for anyone specific." I explained. "My friends and I are on a bit of a journey and we're looking for a _single_ Mudwing to join us. I know this will be difficult though, because I've already been informed about the sibling bonds that Mudwings have, and i wouldn't want to have to make any of them leave each other. I'm Static, by the way."

"Oh, everyone here has already heard your name by now." The Mudwing giggled. "Several even saw you the night the war ended, when you were with the Dragonets of Destiny. You've been quite the word around here. My name is Lily by the way, and the two kind brutes behind me are my brothers Gator and Swamp." The two dragons in question rolled their eyes but smiled at the remark.

"As to your reason for being here, you're right on the aspect that most dragons wouldn't want to leave their sibs behind, especially for an extended time. Thinking about it, most dragons around here are in groups, with most of the single dragons who lost their sibs in the war creating new groups." I sighed at this, thinking we were now out of luck and would have to go to the next closest Mudwing village. "There is one Mudwing I know who might join you though…"

One of her brothers, the one she pointed to as Swamp, stepped up at her comment. "Lily, no, you don't mean _him_ do you? You know that dragon isn't fully right in the head, not since he lost his sibs in the war! You wouldn't want an insane dragon to go with the Protector on some kind of mission, would you?"

Tempest stepped up at his comment. "And what is wrong with seeing things differently, brown scaled one? I believe that it allows quite the different view of most flowers." Swamp blinked at Tempest, not fully knowing how to respond, as Lily rolled her eyes and spoke up.

"He's not insane Swamp, he just thinks differently is all. And from my talks with him, he's always been that way, whether or not he lost his sibs. He's perfectly fine and I think he would be a perfect candidate for whatever journey Static here is on."

At her comment, both brothers went wide eyed as Gator stepped up. "You've kept going up to talk to him even after we specifically told you not to?" At this, Lily's eyes went wide as Gator grabbed one of her ears and began pulling her away, much to her disagreement. "We're going home and having a nice talk, especially when we tell Darter about this." This only made Lily's eyes open wider as she began to be pulled away.

Lily looked towards me while the group of three began walking away. "You're looking for a Mudwing named Rivlet (ow, that hurts!). He lives on top of the far hill over there (please, ow, let go of my ear!)." Lily said, pointing to the West of the village, which, as I followed her point, revealed a single mud hut on the top of the hill.

I turned to thank her for her help, but she had already been dragged off by her brothers, leaving me and my slightly unsure group in the middle of the Mudwing village. Turning to the others, I could see they were as uncertain as I was. "Should we just let them drag her off like that?" Sahara asked.

Shrugging, I turned to look back up the hill. "That's family business, not something we should interfere with. I was going to ask whether or not we should check out this Rivlet fellow or not." After all, Lily's brother's reaction to her talking to this dragon was a bit unsettling, but then again she said that he was fine to talk to and wasn't actually insane. But on the other claw, I had just met her and wasn't sure whether or not I'd see her again.

"I see no reason for us not to." Asteroid said, looking up at the single mud hut as well. "It's a lead, at the very least, and it would save us the trouble of having to ask around anymore or having to go to the next village. We should at least give this dragon the benefit of the doubt and check him out."

Nodding, I decided to agree with this, and with no one arguing, I decided we would go say hello to Rivlet. And so we began walking to the West side of the village, getting some more stares and looks along the way as other Mudwings watched us go by.

After about ten to twenty minutes of walking, we finally made it out of the village and began our ascent up the hill. I began to fully realize how far the actual hut was, being a good walking distance from the rest of the village, making me wonder if Rivlet was some kind of hermit. I then imagined an older Mudwing with swamp plants hanging off of him and crazed like an actual hermit and suppressed a laugh to myself, though Asteroid began looking at me oddly.

For another half hour we walked up the hill, making me wonder what would make Rivlet live so much further away from other Mudwings, especially how according to Lily's brother he was all alone, which was especially strange for a Mudwing. From what I knew, they were the most social of any other tribe, so to hear of a Mudwing living all by himself was a bit disconcerting.

When we finally arrived, I could tell that someone was home, with fire light leaking out through the open windows of the hut, along with the sounds of what sounded like hurried movement from inside. Not sure what else to do, I casually walked up to the hut and knocked on the wooden door that was the entrance of the hut.

The sounds of movement stopped for a moment, in which a second later a male, slightly deep but around my age of voice called out, "Just give me a moment, I'll be right there." The sound of frantic movement began again, and about a minute later the large door opened, revealing the sole occupant.

Standing before us was a dragon around the age of the rest of us, thus being around fully grown. He had dark brown scales and reddish colored wings, with a coffee colored underbelly. He stood with a relaxed but knowing stance, and seemed to be studying our group with careful but calm and knowing eyes.

"Ah, I've been expecting you, though we've been yet to be introduced." That was the first flag to raise in my head, making me wonder how he knew we would be coming as he continued. "My name is Rivlet, which I'm guessing you heard in your trip to the village." That was the second flag to raise in my head, due to how it meant he was watching us fly in. "Please, do come in, it's been forever since I've had anyone to talk to."

With only two flags having been raised in my head so far and the others only looking mildly uncertain and concerned, I took a second to ponder whether or not we would follow him. Tempest made the decision herself, however, hopping her way forward and making her way into the hut.

So, with not many other options, we entered as well, looking around the plain looking mud hut. Making our way forward, we were greeted to a larger room that could fit several dragons in it, with a large table in the center of it. Laying around the edges of the table were pieces cut from a cow in the center, a meal for several dragons set up.

"I wasn't sure if you would like the cow cooked or not, so I left it alone to be cooked by any flames if you would like to. You do like cow, don't you?" He asked, looking at our group. "I would offer fish or camel, but I haven't ever been to the desert and I there are no nearby lakes for me to get fish from either. It was either this or a crocodile, though I've heard that most other dragons don't like their tough texture."

"Cow is just fine." I said, with the others nodding in agreement. Singularity and Tempest also nodded, even though they did prefer fruit and fish themselves. With that, we sat around the table, with Sara and Singularity being closest to me, Asteroid and Sahara sitting in the middle, and Tempest sitting closest to Rivlet, who was at the opposite end.

"That's good, I was so worried when I first anticipated guests arriving. Especially guests who are probably here to speak to me for one reason or another that is important." Looking at our group, he suddenly changed topics as he got to Sara and I. "If you don't mind me asking, do the clouds on your scales have any significance? Are they showing the actual weather somewhere or are they for the camouflage in the skies?"

I blinked at him for a second before responding. "Probably more towards the second guess. I don't believe that our scales actually show any given place." Rivlet nodded before turning to Tempest, who was poking at the cow experimentally, contemplating whether or not she would ask Sahara to cook it for her.

"Ah, I see. And you, the Seawing, would you happen to have any descendants from Skywings perchance? I noticed the color of your eyes as you walked in, and from I've seen, amber is a color more typical of Skywings than Seawings."

Tempest looked over at Rivlet and shrugged, meanwhile I watched him a tad cautiously, starting to understand why the other Mudwings might think he's insane, which wasn't the case. "Anything is potentially possible, but to my current understanding of the ancestors before me, I don't currently have a belief that I would be related to a Skywing. But as I said, anything is possible, and there were never any clear answers as to the identity of the one who paired with my mother."

Rivlet once again nodded, not even seeming fazed by the way Tempest talks. After that, we began to eat, in which I would ask questions when I was done, since I hadn't eaten since that morning. Rivlet ate as well, though continued asking question after question, his interest not holding onto one thing or another for very long, either making him an extremely curious dragon, or he had some form of condition such as ADHD, which was possible.

After eating for a bit and letting Rivlet finish asking Singularity what the brightest color Singularity could make (which was a very bright form of white which caused several of us to look away), I decided to ask Rivlet a few questions of my own. "So Rivlet," I started, getting his attention quickly, "I don't mean to pry, but why are you asking all of these questions, and why in such a hurried fashion?" I asked, wanting to know the meaning behind these questions.

Rivlet seemed to blush as he looked away sheepishly. "Oh, I'm sorry if it bothered you. I've always just had a knack for wanting to learn more about, well, everything." Rivlet said, making me think he would get along just fine if he met Starflight. "As for my hurried way of talking, I've always had my mind preoccupied with one thought or another, and I'm always finding myself distracted quite easily. My siblings always did say I was a bit too easily distracted." The last sentence was said sadly, while Rivlet looked away, lost in his thoughts.

I nodded at his answer, making me think that he probably did have something like ADHD. But that didn't matter right now, as I decided to speak up once more. "Well, not being rude, I do have to ask why, unlike the other Mudwings, you're not part of a group." At his saddened look, I quickly added in, "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

Shaking his head, Rivlet responded. "No, it's fine. It's just I can't imagine myself living with any dragons other than my sibs, and well, they're gone now." Looking around the room, Rivlet continued. "This was our home, and we were the outer scouts for this village. I...lost them one day during the war, but I still refuse to leave our home to go live with other Mudwings."

I nodded. "That's perfectly understandable. Once more, you don't have to talk about it any more if you don't want to. We could change the subject and talk about the reason we're here, after all."

Rivlet shook his head. "I'd rather talk about it, actually. It's been forever since I've had anyone over, and I'd rather get it off my chest." Nodding slowly, Rivlet continued. "I wasn't exactly the bravest dragon, and so I always found ways to avoid our routine scouting and other fights we were forced to fight in, fleeing whenever I could on impulse."

"One day, I came back to this house several hours after another scouting mission, expecting the same understanding yet scolding talks from my sibs. But when I came in, all I found were their broken bodies laying on the floor, the only hint as to who killed them being the signature venom stings of Sandwings."

Looking up from his piece of cow that he had been staring at during his story, Rivlet saw many of us looking at him in emotions of pity, understanding and sadness. He spoke up towards Sahara, who was looking down as well. "I don't blame Sandwings, so don't worry. I just blame my cowardice, since I know I should've been there with them. Anyhow, I do think it is about time you told me why you're here. It'll give me time to think about something important I needed to tell you anyway."

I looked at him questioningly, wondering what this important thing was. "Well, alright then, if you say you're fine." Rivlet nodded as I began explaining who we were, fully introducing everyone to him at last. After that, I described the journey we were on, and how we needed a dragon from every tribe to join us, in which he nodded.

"I expected you would be asking me to accompany you, seeing as how you already have representatives of several other tribes, missing only a Skywing and an Icewing. I would be delighted to join, since it has been too long since I've left this hut. The village won't notice my disappearance either, since I hardly visit. This trip will be just the thing I needed to clear my head after all this time."

Nodding, I looked around to see that everyone had finished eating. "Well, in that case, would you like to get moving?" I asked, in which everyone looked semi-surprised at how far I had been planning ahead. "We'll need all the time we can to get to the Skywing Kingdom, which is our next stop. Of course, we'll give you some time to pack anything you need as well."

Rivlet stood up and nodded. "I'll be ready within the hour. I can't wait to get moving and to see the Skywing kingdom. I've heard much about its impressive stone structures." As he said that, he turned around a corner, exiting our sight as I turned towards the others.

"So, what do you think of him?" I asked, wanting the other's opinions before I told them mine as usual. Tempest spoke up first, looking in the direction that he had left.

"He has a troubled past, and is hiding more than he thinks we know. I like him, and it will give me another voice to converse with during our extended travels through the air. I'd like to ask him about his opinions on gravitational pull and how we are even technically able to fly, after all."

I nodded as Asteroid spoke up next. "I have to agree with Tempest in her observation of him hiding something, along with his past. I could hear more troubled thoughts when he was telling us about his absence of his siblings, though it wasn't clear enough for me to hear fully. His mind also seems to keep going back to something specific, something his minds keeps focusing on, though I still don't know what that is. He seems kind enough though, and might be able to help us."

Sahara spoke up, looking uncertain. "I don't know if we should take him. He said himself that he doesn't like fighting, and even runs from fights. What if we get into another situation where we're outnumbered again, and he's not there to help?"

Sara nodded, agreeing with Sahara. "There's something about him I don't fully trust. The fact that he's been observing us so much and guessing our actions before we take them is kind of unsettling, and the way he always seems so relaxed is strange."

Singularity shrugged, her turn being next. "He seems like a nice enough dragon to me. After all, he fed us and easily agreed to join us, wanting to get away from this place himself. Besides, it might be harder to find a different Mudwing to join us, and if he does have something important to tell us, we should let him stick around and find out what that is."

Finally, everyone turned towards me, in which I sighed while shrugging. "I'm honestly not fully certain about him myself, though we can take him with us for now. Besides, I think he will be helpful, what with everything he seems to know, and he seems quite friendly, if a bit strange. So, with that, and the fact that he is already packing, I guess Rivlet will be our Mudwing."

The others nodded, though Sara and Sahara still looked a bit uncertain, in which they came to the mutual agreement of keeping an eye on him, though hopefully it wouldn't come to that. I wasn't fully certain of Rivlet either, but we did need a Mudwing and he did at least seem to be nice, so hopefully we made the right decision in choosing to bring him along.

After about half an hour of waiting, with our group making small talk during the time with conversations about the Mudwing kingdom (with the general opinion being that it was alright, but there was just a bit too much mud for our tastes), Rivlet finally joined back with us, carrying a large but not overly packed bag that looked like it was made from a crocodile on his back.

Rivlet nodded at our group as he entered. "Alright, I have everything that I should need on an extended journey." He said, gesturing to his bag. "I'm actually quite excited to get moving now. I haven't seen too much of the world outside the Mudwing kingdom, and I can only imagine everything there is to learn about out there."

I grinned and nodded, liking his enthusiasm at least, while Singularity smiled and agreed with him. "I had the same opinion when we left the rainforest, and so far everything I've seen so far is great. I'm sure you'll love it." As Singularity said that, we began heading towards the exit of Rivlet's home.

When we were outside, Rivlet decided to speak up again. "So, do you happen to know what we'll be seeing on the rest of this journey? It would seem I'm a tad late to join this journey, but I would still like to know what else is instore for me."

Nodding, I began explaining the other places in which we still had to go to. "Our next stop, as I said before, will be the Skywing kingdom to find ourselves a Skywing that will be willing to join us, though from what I've heard, it's going to be difficult to find one with the same...attitude as the rest of us."

"After the Skywing kingdom, we'll have to go as far North as possible in search of an Icewing, which could be problematic. If we don't find one then, we'll fly to the village of Possibility and hope we can find either an Icewing to join us or at least a messenger."

"Once we have everyone together, we'll have to begin searching for a hidden place known as the Sky Tower, which I'm also hoping to find information about in the Skywing kingdom. Once there, we'll make our way upwards and encounter Storm, and do what needs to be done." I finished explaining, though my sadness was clearly audible through the last part.

Rivlet nodded at my explanation, looking a bit timid himself at the final aspect. "Yes, as you told me before, we have to put her to rest. Hopefully you won't need my help when it comes to that, but….I will certainly try my best to aid you if you need me."

We were fully outside now as I spoke to Rivlet. "That's all I expect. As long as you try, I don't care if you fail or not. Just remember there is a lot at stake, after all." Rivlet nodded, though his gaze seemed to be staring off into the distance, in which I decided to get his attention. "So, before we go, do you remember what it is that you wanted to tell us?" I asked, in which Rivlet looked at me confused for a moment before realization came over his face and he nodded.

"Oh, yes, I remember now! As I was watching your group fly in, I saw someone watching and following you. It was a strange looking Sandwing with several scars all over him." My heart froze as what he said, and the others had similar expressions, including Tempest, who I had already informed.

"Are you certain?" I asked, needing to make sure that he was talking about the same dragon that was after us. If he was really following us, then he could strike at any time, due to how he was potentially watching us for the perfect time to strike. Little did I know that to him, that perfect strike was about to occur.

Rivlet nodded as he turned towards some bushes close to us and pointed. "Yes, we was watching you from those bushes right there, and since he was so close to my home, that's how I was able to see him so clearly. In fact, if i had to guess, he more than likely is still…"

Time seemed to slow down at what happened next. As Rivlet was speaking, Asteroid's eyes opened wide as she went to push Rivlet and me aside, as for at that moment, the familiar face of the Sandwing assassin appeared from the bushes, his tail poised to strike.

After we had all fallen, I heard two roars of pain and saw a bright orange flash, making me get up quickly as flames soon erupted the area. Looking over, I could see the assassin howling in pain as his tail erupted in flames, the venom that had been dripping from it igniting. Meanwhile, Rivlet lay slumped over, a stab wound in his side.

I quickly yelled out to Singularity to get a venom antidote and use it on Rivlet as I jumped over to the assassin, who was currently stamping out his foot. Thinking he was distracted enough, I quickly spewed out a course of lightning, but he saw it quick enough to move himself mostly out of the way. However, I did manage to hit his tail barb, quickly making a new set of flames appear on it, causing him to scream in pain once more.

Carefully watching him as he stamped out his tail, the rest of my group quickly surrounded him, leaving only Singularity and Rivlet the only dragons not surrounding the assassin. When he was done stamping out his tail, there was almost nothing left of the barb, leaving his tail essentially useless as a weapon now, in which he glared and hissed at me through pain gritted teeth.

"We have you surrounded, assassin. Any attempts to escape will not end well for you. Now, tell me, how did you find us?" I asked, getting a chuckle out of him, one that made all of us uneasy and getting us ready to fight.

"Alright kid, I know when I'm beat. Let me tell you, it was quite easy to find you when an informant can just find me at any time and tell me. Though I doubt she'll want my services now, what with the failure this attempt has been. And to think, I was going to get so much gold for your head, which I would have used as a bowl to hold it all." He said, glaring at me.

I glared back at him, not liking this. "And who is this informant?" I asked, wondering if we were being spied on by somebody else...or worse.

The dragon cackled once more as he shrugged. "Even I don't fully know. She appears at random, only giving me what I need to know. She first appeared, giving me and my crew a nice base of operations, the only catch being we had to attack groups of traveling dragons. The second time wasn't that long ago, when she told me where you and your little friends were. Now, even though she promised me gold, the satisfaction of getting to try to kill you was enough."

"What did this dragon look like, at least? What tribe was she from, and did she have any defining characteristics?" I asked, needing to know who it was that he was talking about.

The Sandwing cackled again, before pointing towards Sara, much to our shock. "Imagine her, but bigger, older, and way meaner. Even I'm afraid of that dragon, and not much scares me. She has this weird power about her that makes me uneasy, and even now, I doubt I'll live long now that I've spilled the beans."

As he said that, everyone jumped as a loud sound erupted the area, like that of an explosion. I heard everyone cry out suddenly as there was a bright flash of light that accompanied the noise, making us temporarily blind.

Blinking my eyes, I was eventually able to see again, and what stood before us shocked everyone who saw it once their vision cleared.

Where the assassin was lay only a skeleton, his skull in a permanent smile as he laid on the ground, the grass around him having been burnt to a crisp by what had hit him. Looking up, I saw that there was not a single cloud in the sky, and yet, while I looked up, I had an uneasy feeling I was being watched from up there.

And I felt like I knew who it was.

 **Author's Note: Woot, another chapter up on time, and once more full length. Anyhow, thank you all so much for reading so far, I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. I'm still not fully sure how I'm going to go about writing Rivlet, though I currently have him as this intelligent but relaxed dragon whose mind is usually somewhere else, though he still has his moments, like where he forgot to warn the others that they were standing right next to where an assassin was. (...) Yeah...I don't know fully myself. Anyhow, thank you for reading, be sure to tell me what you think if you want to (I do enjoy reading the comments), and as usual, the next chapter should be up on time next week.**


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

After what had happened to the assassin, I decided our best course of action was to get everyone inside, and quickly. I didn't need anyone getting hurt if there was to be another bolt of lightning, after all. So, with Singularity, Sahara, Sahara and I all carringing in a wounded Rivlet while Asteroid grabbed Singularity's medicine bag and Tempest holding the door to Rivlet's shack open, we rushed inside.

Once we were in side, Rivlet directed us to his mud pool, where he slept, which would be good for him since mud aided in Mudwing healing. Once there, we helped him into it, though we kept the wound, which was a deep one in his side, out of the mud until Singularity could use the cactus juice on it.

After Asteroid gave Singularity her medical bag, Singularity directed us how to keep pressure around his wound to keep the venom from spreading like she had when we were outside while she pulled out a glass vile, which inside of it held the cactus juice from the desert.

I was honestly impressed with Singularity's seriousness and experience as she poured the liquid onto the wound, with Rivlet hissing and digging his talons into the ground from the pain. Sure, I knew that she had worked with the medical Rainwings back in the rainforest, but just seeing how she acted in a time of crisis was actually quite different from how she acted normally.

Once all of the liquid was poured onto the wound, Singularity had us hold our talons over Rivlet for a minute longer until all of the liquid had gotten into the wound, the trailing black lines that were appearing under Rivlet's scales disappearing. Once certain that the cactus juice had taken its full effect, Singularity had us let go of Rivlet and let him ease himself into the mud, in which he sighed in content as the mud enveloped his scales and wound.

Singularity let out a sigh of relief as she looked towards us. "Well, he should be fine. I don't know much about how well Mudwings heal when in mud, but with the wound treated, we should be able to move again at earliest tomorrow. Now, to ask the question on everyone's minds: What the heck just happened out there?!" Singularity asked, her scales turning green in confusion and worry.

Everyone started talking at once, their confusion and worry easily visible in the faces and voices. After all, the assassin that had been following us for a while now had just been killed in front of our eyes by being completely destroyed by a single bolt of lightning. There are several problems here, of course, such as how it's a clear day and also how lightning typically doesn't have the power to remove all the scales and flesh from a dragon.

I was, of course, worried as well, but I tried to stay calm, knowing that I wasn't about to let myself panic. Deciding to get the others to do the same, I quickly got their attention by looking up and releasing a bit of lightning, quieting them all.

"Look, I don't know exactly what that lightning was," I said, getting everyone's attention. "But I believe that I might have an idea as to who caused it."

Sara looked at me curiously through the confusion on her face. "What do you think it was then, Jack? I mean, lightning doesn't just do... _that._ " Sara said, gesturing back outside with a wing.

"I think, due to the assassin's description, though I don't fully understand why, that it might be Storm that did that." I explained.

Everyone went silent, piecing together what I had said. Sure, it would make sense if the powerful and ancient olden Skywing animus caused the assassin's death and had even been the one aiding him, but the real question was...why? If she was the one that wanted us to finally end her suffering, then why would she be trying to stop us?

"It doesn't fully make sense, I know, but it's the only explanation that really makes sense. And honestly, it's starting to make more and more sense the more that I think about it." I said, which just ended up making everyone look at me questioningly.

"What do you mean?" Sahara asked. "Sure, she would have the power to do what we just saw happen, but why? If she wants us to stop her, why is she against us all of a sudden?"

"Because she's the reason we _need_ to stop her." Asteroid said, understanding as well. "She's the reason the world could be plunged into chaos, and that is exactly why she wanted us to stop her. She knew what she would soon be a part of, and wanted us to stop her before she makes it happen."

"Exactly," I said, agreeing with Asteroid. "I don't know what's changed since the time I talked with her, but something has definitely happened that has caused Storm to...change. Either way, we'll have to be careful now." I said.

Tempest nodded. "The magics of old are quite dangerous, especially in the talons of the truly crazed. If we are not at our best at all times and always watching the shadows, we might not be able to finish this story."

"So...what do we do then?" Singularity asked. "I mean, I doubt we're really that safe in here, since she can use her animus magic at any time. And even if we were to leave, what would we do? She could attack us at any time in almost any way."

"We don't panic." I said, getting everyone's attention. "If I had to guess, she can't attack us directly for some reason, or else she probably would have by now." This got everyone nodding their heads, though some didn't look as convinced as others. "As for what we do what now, we rest and make sure we're ready to move again tomorrow or whenever Rivlet feels well enough for us to leave. Any questions?"

Rivlet spoke up, looking at me wearily due to how he was still recovering from the shock of being stabbed. "Um, yes, I do have to ask two things. Firstly, what is it you will be doing in this time, and secondly, why does everyone keep calling you Jack?"

Smacking my head, I completely forgot to fully fill Rivlet in now that we knew he would be joining us. "I'll let Sara explain the second part," I said, looking towards my sister, in which Rivlet looked even more confused since he knew her as Spark. "As for me, I'll be heading back outside."

"What, why?!" Several of my friends asked while giving me varying looks of worry and confusion. Singularity continued though. "We just saw a dragon get completely turned into a skeleton in less than a second in front of us, and you want to go back out there? What if you get hurt?" Singularity asked, her scales turning a pale blue in worry.

"I need to check the skeleton, just in case there is anything I missed. We were in a hurry, after all, and for all we know there might have been a message or something else." I said, coming up with an explanation. "But just in case, the rest of you stay in here and stay safe. We don't need anyone getting hurt after all."

"That's why you shouldn't be going out there as well." Asteroid said. "I can see many things going wrong with your plan, and it would more than likely be for the best if you were to stay in here with us until it is time for us to leave."

Shaking my head, I knew Asteroid more than likely already knew my actual plan. "I still need to check for myself. And it shouldn't take me too long anyway. So please," I said, looking towards everyone. "Just stay in here and stay safe until I get back, alright?"

The others, after a moment of silence, reluctantly nodded, though Singularity quickly walked up and hugged me. "Stay safe out there, alright? And when you can later, do you think we can talk for a bit?" She asked, giving me a worried look as she pulled away from the hug.

I nodded as I began to head towards the door. "Of course. I always do enjoy our talks, after all. And none of you have anything to worry about, since I will be just fine." The others didn't look too convinced, but that would probably be the best I could get them as I walked out of the mud hut, shutting the wooden door behind me.

Taking several steps outside, I looked around, noting everything of interest around me. For starters, there was no one coming from the village to investigate the huge bolt of lightning that had just appeared, making me wonder if anyone was even able to see or hear it from there. Secondly, at which my eyes widened in surprise, the assassin's skeleton was gone, the only marking of it ever having been there being the large dome of scorched earth where it once sat.

Looking around some more, I didn't notice anything else of importance other than that I was completely alone. I don't mean that in which I was the only one there; I was the only living thing in that area at the moment. The sounds of insects was gone, there were no birds flying by or idly chirping nearby, nor was there any nearby rustling of a squirrel or other small critter.

I took a deep breath, hoping that my assumption would be correct, before I spoke aloud to the empty clearing. "I know you're out here. Come out and explain yourself." I said with confidence, hoping that I was right and that I wasn't just talking to myself.

For a moment, there was silence, making me wonder if I was wrong. However, the sound of slow clapping appeared, coming from a single tree behind me. Turning around, I watched as a familiar dragon appeared from behind the tree, even though it would have been physically impossible for her to be completely hidden behind it.

Standing before me was Storm, though something was off. She still was about three times larger than me, towering over myself to the point where she could easily touch the top of Rivlet's house if she chose to. However, her scales seemed darker, the clouds looking like they held an awaiting storm, and she had a hidden murderous gleam in her eyes as she grinned down at me.

"My my my, I'm quite surprised that the pawn knew that I was here. How ever did you figure that one out, I am quite curious about." She said, speaking in a manner that was different than the last time I had spoken to her, for it felt more sinisterly.

"It was obvious when the way that the assassin was killed by a thunderbolt." I said, watching her carefully. "I also saw a strange shimmer in the sky afterwards, thus leading me to assume that you were watching as well." I said, in which she nodded in a way that she understood, though didn't fully care. "And I would say hello, but I don't believe we've met before, because you're obviously not Storm. So who are you, and what are you planning?"

The dragon smirked at me before waving a talon at me. "Sorry, but I'm not exactly in the mood to monologue my grand skeme right now, especially not to such a lowly pawn. However, I will at least both confirm and deny your assumption of my identity, for I am both Storm and not Storm. I'm her…" The dragon paused, searching for the right words for a moment, "her other half, to say the least. The more ambitious side, I might add. You may call me Tornado, if you don't feel like calling me Storm." She said.

I glared back at her smirk, due to how knowing it was. She knew I couldn't attack or threaten her, because it would mean my death if I did. It still raised the question as to why she wasn't trying to kill me though. "Alright Tornado, then will you at least explain what you are doing here, or why you are so determined to try to kill me and my friends?"

The smirk on her face turned into a grin as she moved her head down to me. "Why, that's all because you annoying pests stand in my way." She said calmly. "I would kill you myself right now, but that would be a waste of effort on my part. As for what I'm doing here besides taking one of my own pawns out of the picture, I just do so enjoy watching the moves my enemy takes. It's so exciting to ponder which move I'll have to take next to counter it. And might I add," she said, reaching down and pulling my head up with a claw of hers, "that my opponent did pick a quite resourceful pawn. Everything I've thrown at you has been tossed away like it's not even a barrier. It does make the game more interesting though."

Pushing myself away from her claw, I looked up at her in anger and confusion. "Is that how you view all of this? _A game?!_ You're willing to put dragon's lives on the line just to entertain yourself?" I asked in disbelief.

She shrugged at me. "Quite possibly, though only for the moment. Once this game is over and you and your little group of "friends"," she said, putting her claws into air quotations, "are all dead and out of the way, then the real fun begins." She said, an evil gleam in her eyes as she rubbed her claws together in anticipation.

"I will not allow that to happen, you know." I said, getting her attention, though this only caused her smirk to return. "Once I have everyone together, we'll find the Sky Tower. Once we get there, we'll open the gate and reach you, and then…"

"And then _what?_ " She asked, interrupting me as her smirk turned into a knowing grin. "What can you and your little friends really do against _me_ , a dragon that has ultimate power at the tips of my talons, a dragon that could wipe you and your little friends directly out of _existence itself_ if I chose to?"

The whole time she had been speaking, she had slowly moved her head closer and closer to me, until she finished with her face and her evil grin a mear foot away from me. And even though my heart was beating the hardest it ever had in my life, I stood my ground, in which I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing how scared I was.

"We'll defeat you, and finally put Storm to rest." I spoke calmly, getting an annoyed look from Tornado as she moved her head away. "I have a plan, a plan that no matter what you do, you won't be able to stop it. And when we're done, nobody will even know you had existed." I said, adding in the last part to intimidate her.

My intimidation worked too well, apparently, in which she had sparks escaping the edges of her mouth, while her expression was that of pure hatred, its look being pointed exactly at me. If looks could kill, not even revival would be able to bring me back by this point.

"We'll see about that when you're _dead_." She said, before flicking her talons once, causing several of the nearby trees to rise out of the ground and turn into wicked looking spikes. My eyes widened as she flicked her talons once more, sending the spears directly for me.

I went to dodge, but it wasn't needed as Tornado suddenly grasped her head in pain, one hand moving away from her head to quickly flick another talon, sending the spikes away from me and into the ground.

Watching in confusion as to what was happening, Tornado looked at me with a glare before opening a large portal in front of her, its large circular shape colored a greyish blue with swirls going to its center. "This isn't over yet, pawn. But just you wait, for once I can use my power freely, you can consider you and your little friends all dead." She said, spitting the words at me with venom dripping from her voice as she stepped through the portal.

Standing there for a moment longer, I watched as the portal disappeared, not even making a move for it as it ceased to exist. After I had fully gathered myself, I walked slowly to the cabin, before slowing opening the wooden door with a shaking hand.

Standing behind the door were all of my friends, worried and concerned looks on their faces. I didn't have time to say anything to them though, the shock of everything that had just happened fully getting to me, in which I fainted in the doorway, much to the concerned shouts of my friends as I faded from consciousness.

An undetermined amount of time later, I felt my eyes slowly blinking open as I woke up. I felt groggy, having just woken up, and I tried to recall when I fell asleep. After a second of thought, my eyes opened wide as I remembered the events that had just transpired, but as I looked around, I realized I was safely back in Rivlet's hut.

Not only that, but I was also surrounded by my friends, concerned and relieved looks on their faces as I got up. "Jack, what happened to you out there?" Sara asked, still looking concerned as I tried to get up, but I was held down by an equally concerned looking Singularity.

Sighing, I decided to explain what had just transpired, telling my friends about my encounter with Tornado. As I spoke, their looks just turned to contain more confusion and concern, especially with Tornado's long term plans for our group. "As to why I fell unconscious, it was probably due to a mixture of stress and shock to the events that had just occurred. So please, let me get up."

Singularity reluctantly let me get up, though she still seemed concerned for me. It made sense though, since I had just unexpectedly fell unconscious in front of them. "So, other than the obvious that we'll have to be more careful in our journey, what's everyone's thoughts?" I asked, and after a moment, I added in a secondary thought. "And how long was I out for anyway?"

"Several hours." Singularity replied, much to my surprise. "It's almost night now. That's why we were so concerned, especially since we couldn't find any wounds on you, making us wonder if you were poisoned or worse. As for Tornado…" Singularity went silent for a second before continuing. "Can we really defeat a dragon like that?"

Tempest seemed to agree with Singularity's statement, though she didn't look as worried. "What can the likes of us, a peculiar assortment of different dragons, really do against the serpent of the skies?"

"Now hold on you two." Sahara said, stopping Singularity's and Tempest's thoughts. "Sure, it seems like a bad situation, I admit, but you heard what Jack said. He has a plan after all, and that's what really matters." Sahara then turned to me. "So, um, what exactly is this grand plan? It would probably be for the best if we knew it as well."

I shook my head, much to everyone's surprise as I spoke. "No, I can't do that. It's too risky." With everyone's confused expressions, with Sara and Sahara looking like they were about to argue, I explained. "I can't tell anyone this plan, nor can I write it down, because now I know Tornado can be watching at any time, and if she finds out about my plan, she could potentially render it useless. I'm sorry, but for now, I can't tell you my plan. We just have to wait for the right moment is all."

As the others nodded in agreement, though they still didn't look fully convinced, I locked eyes with Asteroid. She cocked her head at me sadly, since I couldn't allow her to know the plan either, and I was doing so by using the method to keep her out that I had remembered. I could tell she understood, though she still didn't like not being able to see my thoughts.

Even then, it was crucial that nobody but me know my plan. Everything would fall apart if Tornado knew the details, and I could only hope she was watching right now, that way she would grow more annoyed at not knowing my plan or having any way of getting to it. Of course, all of the secrecy was due to one major detail about the plan.

There wasn't one.

I had no idea what I was going to do to fight Tornado, let alone completely stop her. But I couldn't let the others know that, nor let Tornado know either. Besides, the others seemed calmer thinking that I did in fact have a plan, so if it made them feel better, I would keep letting them think that until I actually do, in fact, have a plan.

I just hope I'll be able to come up with one before it's too late.

Anyhow, since I was fully up, I went and looked outside. Sure enough, it was dark outside, though not too much, showing that night had only just begun. Turning behind me, I could see Tempest suppressing a yawn, making me realize that for the last few hours, none of my friends in front of me had done anything besides look after me, which ended up making me feel happy inside that they cared so much.

So, since I cared for them so much and since I needed to cheer them up a bit, I fully extended my wings, showing their large span, before engulfing the group into a hug. This of course startled them, since I didn't do this that often, and Sahara even let out a squeak of sorts as I pulled them into a large group hug.

After a second, the others returned the favor, and we stayed like that for a moment. As we embraced, I grinned at the group, once more realizing just how deeply I had bonded with these strange dragons since my arrival here. " _I won't let you hurt my friends Tornado."_ I thought as Singularity leaned her head against my shoulder. " _One way or another, I'm going to stop you. And no matter what happens to me, I'll ensure that my friends stay safe."_

" _No matter what."_

Soon after we had parted, the others went their separate ways, most of them heading to a large room that Rivlet had off to the side that allowed them a place to sleep. Once everyone had dissipated, I noticed that the only dragon left other than myself was Singularity, who was holding the door to outside open.

"I was wondering if we could finally talk, like I asked earlier, while looking up at the stars." She said, her scales beginning to ripple and change to match that of the night sky overhead. "Afterall, I feel most comfortable talking to you when I see the stars, but if you want to stay in here…"

"Outside is fine." I said to Singularity, which ended up having her smile softly at me as we both headed outside. Looking around after my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I could see that the wooden spikes were still there, reminding me of the earlier events that had transpired. Singularity noticed them as well, but after a moment of staring at them, she moved her gaze away as she spread her wings, before propelling herself upwards.

Following her, we soon landed on top of Rivlet's house, with the roof not even creaking under us, much to my surprise. I would question this, wondering about the building structure that Mudwings use for their huts, but I decided that could wait as a side question to ask Rivlet later. For now, I huddled next to Singularity, noticing the dip in temperature. No doubt it was almost winter now, and recently the nights had been getting colder as well.

For a while, we just sat there in silence, the two of us just staring at the night sky. No matter how many times I saw it, the night sky was surely amazing here. With no light pollution, almost every star possible littered the sky, its vast beauty standing before me. It was certainly breathtaking, and I could understand how Singularity still enjoyed its sight after all these years.

During that time of silence, I thought back to my secondary dilemma, that of which I would stay here or not. Sure, I should probably be thinking more about how I'm to defeat an all powerful and ancient dragon, but no matter how many times I try to shift the topic aside, I always end up coming back to this topic.

If I went home, I wouldn't have to leave Sara, and I would be able to see my parents again...but at what cost? During my time here in Pyrrhia, I had made so many friends, had so many great experiences (even though many involved me fighting for my life), and have felt the most alive than ever before in my life. So at this point, do I chose to stay with my family, or to stay with my friends?

My parents had always been there for me, but couldn't fully understand me, especially not after the incident, no matter how hard they tried. But they still loved and cared for Sara and I both, and who knows how worried they both have been since Sara and I disappeared? Could I even live with myself if I didn't even let them know what happened to me?

As I thought about this, I realized that if I stayed, then Sara would not only have to go back alone, but she wouldn't be able to talk about where she had gone or what had happened to me, because nobody would believe me. Even if the portal here is still there, Sara wouldn't be able to tell anyone about it, or risk more people coming to Pyrrhia.

I was soon thankfully ripped from my thoughts as Singularity finally spoke. "Jack...I'm going to be honest. This whole adventure and everything on this trip, even though exciting, has scared me." She said, not taking her saddened gaze away from the stars.

"At first, it was exciting to finally be able to explore the world, and it still is. I've seen so much more, so much of the world that had been unknown to me beforehand due to how I had never had the courage to leave the rainforest. Ever since I was attacked by that Mudwing soldier, I was afraid that the rest of the world would treat me the same way," Singularity stopped for a second, rubbing a claw over her scar as she finally looked at me. "...but then I met you."

"You showed me that there were good dragons in the world, dragons that could make a difference, even though you weren't always a dragon yourself. You've shown me so much more than any other dragon has even considered to show me in my entire life, and I would like to thank you for that."

Singularity looked uncertain for a moment, before continuing. "We've done so much together, sharing both our thoughts and our pains, and I honestly can say that my moments with you are the happiest ones I can remember. But lately...things have changed."

I cocked my head at Singularity in confusion as she continued, her face showing her sadness. "Lately, even though I know what we are doing is good and is for the best, I have also been in more fights for my life than any other time in my life. And I have a feeling that until all of this is over, if we even do manage to finish it, which I'm so afraid to even think about, it's just going to get worse."

Tears were beginning to well in Singularity's eyes. "I'm not sure what to do anymore Jack. I can fight, sure, but that doesn't mean I'm a fighter myself. And with the fear of death around every corner, my whole body is telling me to fly away, to run and hide back in the jungle, but I can't...because of you." She said, looking up at me with tear filled eyes.

"I can't leave because I don't want to leave you to have to face Tornado alone, and I know that you need me to even reach her. I don't want to let you down, because you mean so much to me, but I'm so scared...I just don't know what to do right now." Singularity finished, her wings slumping onto the ground as she continued to cry.

Looking at her, I wasn't sure what to do at first. I knew I had to reassure her, but seeing how scared she was, I knew that wouldn't be enough. I felt the same way, after all. I was so scared as well that we were on a pointless journey, and that I was going to get us all killed. Even though everyone else was scared as well, I knew I had to stay strong and set the example for them, and that's why I tried to stay strong.

But seeing Singularity like this in front of me, the dragon that had became one of my best friends, and maybe even something more than that, having fallen to her fear...it left me speechless. I wasn't sure what to do, but I knew that whatever I did would have to not only reassure her, but also give her inspiration to push past the fear and to keep going.

Aw, screw it.

As Singularity cried, I angled my tail around, before coiling it around Singularity's. Singularity looked up at me, wondering what I was about to say, but I didn't say anything. Instead, I wrapped my wings around her, pulling her close to me, so close in fact that I could smell her tears and feel her breath against me.

And then I kissed her.

Singularity's eyes opened wide at what I had done, but soon closed and embraced the kiss. It was weird, kissing as a dragon, but it wasn't unpleasant either, and so we stayed that way a moment longer before stopping, in which I looked into Singularity's eyes, which were fluttering open in happiness and confusion, meanwhile the scales around them had turned a bright pink.

"I won't let anything happen to you Singularity. No matter what happens, I can only believe that things will get better. I'm scared too, but I don't show it because I know that I have to act strong for the rest of you. So please, keep pushing on, because, well...you keep me going as well."

Singularity smiled softly at me once more, the tears fully gone, before wrapping her tail back around mine as well. "Alright, I'll try to be strong. Thank you Jack, for everything."

I nodded as we continued embracing, and we stayed there for a long time, the two of us embracing each other under Pyrrhia's night sky.

 **Author's Note: ...Yeah, that seems like a good place to end the chapter. It only took, what, about 20 chapters for the ship to be fulfilled? Anyhow, there you go, the Statlarity ship is cannon now, which I honestly wasn't planning on writing at the end of this chapter. It just...happened. Anyhow, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter, for next week will be the Skywing Kingdom, where we're going to meet 2 new crucial characters in the story, but you'll have to wait till next week to find out who. Also, thank you The SkrillRider for allowing me to use Rivlet, and I'm glad that I'm writing his character correctly. Hopefully I'll write more with him, but with so many dragons to use at once, it's kinda difficult to get everyone's personalities just right. And we still have 2 more dragons to go! (Maybe this is why authors usually only do groups of 5 at most…) Anyhow, thank you all so much for reading, be sure to tell me what you thought in the comments that I love to read, and the next chapter should be up on time next week.**


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

After Singularity and I had finished with our moment outside, we soon joined the others in blissful sleep, all of us needing it after the day we had just had. Singularity laid next to me as I moved my tired body next to Sara's already unconscious form, and gave me one last smile before closing her eyes and going to sleep as well. After a moment of thinking over everything that had happened and what was still to come, I decided to fall asleep as well.

The next morning, I awoke to a tail smacking me in the face. I blinked my eyes open wearily as Singularity stretched in front of me, with her tail having hit me as she hadn't't been watching. Around me I can see the others getting up as well, so I deem it time for me to get up as well.

I yawn as I get up, pushing Singularity's tail off of my face as I did so. Soon, I'm fully awake, with the others fully up around me as well. I can also see Rivlet, who has extracted himself from the mud of which he was sleeping in. Looking at his side, I can see that the wound is already roughly scabbed over, showing that it was in fact healing, though not only would it still take much longer to fully heal, but it was more than likely to scar as well.

Once everyone was fully up, Asteroid looked at me after letting out one last yawn. "So, what's the agenda for today, Jack?" She asked, looking at me curiously. Sure, she could just listen to my thoughts to know of today's plan, but it was nice of her to remember the others as she asked (this train of thought resulted in me getting a raised eyebrow and a small grin expression from the dragon in question).

I shrugged as I began stretching out my wings. "Same plan as yesterday, roughly. We'll first find something to eat, and then we'll be flying to the Skywing kingdom, which shouldn't take more than about three to four days from here, what with us still having to take everyone's injuries into consideration."

Everyone nodded at this, looking at their own injuries in turn. Sure, most of us had almost fully healed, though we still had to be careful with our wings for at least a few more days, or else we could potentially open the wounds once more through too much flying.

"So what exactly is the plan for once we reach our destination?" Rivlet asked after poking at his injury, which I noticed made him wince. "All that we have talked about is going to the kingdom and finding a Skywing to join our little group, along with researching this "Sky Tower"."

I thought for a second, going over the plans in my head before replying. "Well, we'll first have to get to the kingdom itself. Then we'll probably break apart into groups, that way we can search around and look for a Skywing willing to join us faster and more efficiently. Meanwhile I'll be searching for some kind of library or some place that might hold the Skywing's history, and get researching. So, to make things easier, let's discuss groups now. Who wants to do some research with me when we get there?"

After asking the question, I had to take a second to wonder whether or not I should be surprised at the response. As I watched, Sara's, Singularity's, Sahara's and Rivlet's talons shot into the air. Sara and Singularity made sense, due to how they would probably want to spend more time with me, and Rivlet, from what I've made of him, probably wants to do some research about the Skywings himself.

Sahara was the one I was curious about, and so, since she was the least likely to get distracted during our research, I decided to choose her, much to her delightment and the other's disappointment. This then led to the creation of the other groups, which would be Sara and Singularity, and Asteroid, Tempest and Rivlet.

With the discussion of what the groups would be once we reached the Skywing kingdom, along with our plan for the next few days out of the way as well, we decided to finally leave Rivlet's mud hut behind, in which we went to search for food for about an hour, taking the time to eat as well.

Once we were all packed, ready, and having eaten, we decided it high time to leave. With Rivlet taking one last glance back at the Mudwings and his home, we flew up into the sky, making our way Northwest in the direction of the Skywing Kingdom.

Our traveling commessed as usual, with us discussing several different conversation topics once more. With Rivlet included, we got to learn a bit more about each other physically, since he wanted to know more about the different dragon tribes biology. So, along with learning how much venom a Sandwing can produce and how bright a Seawing can shine their lights (which, with Tempest demonstrating, almost blinded several of us out of the sky), we also got to learn new things such as distance and radius Sara and I can actually release our lightning.

All in all, the first day went by pretty well. We had already covered some good distance, we got to learn more about each other again, and there was nothing in our way so far. And with the assassin no longer a worry, we could all get full nights sleep again without any worry. Honestly, after everything that had happened, I felt like things were finally going to look up for a change.

However, I did notice a few things as we traveled. First of all, when experimenting with the compass some more, I found it not only worked on some kind of charge, in which it could only point at so many things before it would stop working for a bit (which freaked me out at first, making me think I had broken it until it started working again), but it also had a way of telling distances, with the needle getting wider or smaller depending on how far away the dragon in question was.

There were also a few things I was worried about, however, but hopefully they wouldn't be to bad of issues. The first of which was a storm I could see upon the horizon when we landed, and I could tell with its rolling black clouds that it wouldn't be good to fly in. Also, Rivlet hadn't been speaking much to us about himself, which made some sense since we just had met him less than a day ago, though I noticed with the way he shied away from questions about him and his siblings that it would take a bit longer before he fully opened up to us, which I guess was alright. After all, we basically just showed up and said "Hey random Mudwing, you want to come on a secret quest with us that might end up getting you killed?", which wasn't exactly the best first impression, now that I think about it.

It was at this point I decided we should learn more about Rivlet the next day.

So, as we continued to travel, I began to slowly ask and learn more about Rivlet, who seemed to notice this with a curious but understanding way. He eventually started answering questions about himself when we were a day's flight away from the Skywing Kingdom, and as we laughed at each other's jokes and funny stories of the past, one such being how he had to pull one of his sister's heads out of a tree after she had been chasing a squirrel, we finally reached the Skywing Kingdom, our bonds a bit deeper as we also entered the storm.

We could see the kingdom as the clouds passed over us, the first few black clouds encompassing the sky being so thick that there would be no hope of any sunlight shining through. I could also see several bolts of lightning lighting up the sky in the distance, and every now and then our group would be startled by the loud crash of thunder as the heavy downpour of rain poured down upon us, giving us more motivation to reach the Skywing kingdom.

While the rain poured down upon our wings, threatening to pull all us us down to the ground, we finally reached the Skywing Kingdom, in which we quickly landed down upon a cobblestone street. Looking around, I could see that, unsurprisingly, there were few dragons around, with only a few running about, no doubt trying to get out of the rain as well.

"Static, where should we go from here?!" Sara shouts at me over the rain as we quickly run to get under a covering and out of the rain, though there is barely enough space under the covering for all of us. Squeezing together, I shut my eyes and think for a moment, deciding what we should do.

"Let's head to the castle." I say, much to the other's surprise. "As much as I would like to avoid the royalty around here, even if Ruby is supposed to be much more sensible than Scarlet was, we should head there as a way to get out of the rain, along with an easy access to the records, which I know they have there at least. There is only one problem, however…"

"There's no assurance we'll get in." Asteroid finished for me, making me give her a deadpan look at finishing my sentence for me once more, making her look away guiltily and apologize while muttering, "Force of habit.". With the others not having any other ideas and with us wanting to get out of the rain quickly, we began scrabbling up the cobblestone road and towards the large castle.

As I held my wings above me, trying to prevent as much rain as possible from hitting me, I could only stare up at the castle as we approached it. Memories began replaying in my head, with the first being those of fear, confusion, and shock at not only being turned into a dragon, but almost immediately being forced to fight in a prison arena as well.

Shaking my head, I realized that we had almost arrived at the castle, with a large gate like structure the only thing standing in our way. Its outside was carved out of stone, with carved out depictions of Skywings standing over the clouds and cliffs depicted upon it. Standing underneath and in front of the metallic gate were two armored Skywings, one with bright orange scales, the other having a darker copper color. They had been idly chatting amongst each other until we showed up, in which they stood at attention and called out at us.

"Halt! Who are you and why are you here?" One of the guards called out to us, making our group stop in the middle of the road. I stepped in front of the group, ready to begin explaining why an odd assortment of dragons had randomly showed up at the Skywing palace.

"My name is Static, also known as the Protector of the dragonets." I said, announcing my title, even though I still didn't like using it. However, it definitely got the guard's attention, making their eyes widen and having them stand up straighter. "My friends and I have come to the Skywing kingdom at a bad time, what with the storm, and we were wondering if we could at least get out of the rain in the palace, and if I could, use the palace's library to try and find some information regarding a topic I need to know more about."

The guards looked at each other uncertainty for a moment, as if unsure about what to do about me. After a second, they began muttering to each other, and when they ended, one turned and headed through the gate, flying his way up to the castle while the other one beckoned us to him.

"We're not sure if we can let you in, sir." The dragon said uncertainty, his voice nervous, especially when I gave him a look for calling me "sir". "We're currently sending a message to the queen on what we should do, so until we get a reply, you can stand under here to keep out of the rain, but we can't let you in."

I nodded in understanding as our group made their way under the stone structure, in which some of them shook off their wings, trying to get the rain off of them. While we stood there, I could only ponder what Ruby's answer would be, and whether or not we would actually be able to use the castle's resources or not.

After several minutes of waiting outside, the only sounds being that of the rain, our breathing, and the quiet conversations of the others, the other guard was finally seen flying back towards us. His partner opened the gate up for him as he landed, and looked towards us. "You and your friends will be allowed inside the castle, and you'll be allowed to access the library."

I nodded, about to thank him, but he stopped me as he continued. "However, the queen would first like to speak with you, and would also like your help with an issue before you can use the library. I take it that this won't be an issue?" The guard asked, looking at me while waiting for my response.

"That won't be a problem at all. I would be more than happy to aid queen Ruby, especially if she believes that she needs my help with whatever the issue is." I said.

The guard nodded, before turning back towards the gate. "Then follow me. I'll take you to the queen, meanwhile your group can wait in the rest of the castle while you talk to her majesty." With our acknowledgement, the dragon opened his wings and flew through the gate and up to the castle, in which we followed behind.

"What do you think queen Ruby wants your help with? And why can't the rest of us be there with you?" Singularity asked, looking in amazement at the massive stone structure as we entered it, looking slightly annoyed at having to be left behind.

I lifted my claws up unknowingly. "I don't know, but hopefully it won't be anything too troubling. If I had to guess though, she probably wants to ask me if I have any knowledge as to where Scarlet might be." I replied.

Concerning ex queen Scarlet, I had hoped she would be captured at the end of the war, but unfortunately she had managed to escape and hadn't been seen by any dragons since. I honestly hoped we never ran into her, because even though we could more than likely beat her in a fight, she was still extremely smart, and could still harm some of us in the process. And with our past experiences of each other, she more than likely still harbored a grudge against me, and with the feeling mutual, I honestly am not certain what I would do if I ran into the despicable dragon again.

As we continued flying through the halls, I began to have flashbacks once more of my first time here, but I quickly shook my head, quickly clearing out the terrible thoughts. Trying to keep myself distracted, I instead looked more closely at the halls, and could see that they had mildly changed since my last time here. Much of the gold that ran through the walls had been removed, and almost everything that involved Scarlet had been removed or defaced, which brought a grin to my face.

When we finally came into the central area, I could see several Skywings flying about, many taking double takes when they saw our group. Many turned their heads at first, seeing such an odd assortment of dragons, but as soon as they saw me, I could immediately feel several gazes lock onto me in shock and wonder. Trying my best to ignore the stares, I quickly followed our guide to the ground, in which he had landed.

"Your group may stay here for the time being, until the queen has decided which parts of the castle you're allowed to roam in, which will be decided upon how much you can aid her in her issue. As for you, you're to continue following me to the throne room." The guard said, turning to us and explaining.

The others didn't seem overly happy about staying here, though some like Tempest and Rivlet were too busy looking at every part of the Skywing castle interior to complain. Turning to them, I told them I would be right back, and that got the others to begrudgingly nod as I spread my wings and soon began following the guard once more.

As we flew, I couldn't stop the flashbacks from appearing again as the familiar route to the throne room appeared before me, and I could feel my breathing increase as the memories of fear for where I was and fear for my life once more appeared. However, when I saw the guard looking back at me to see if I was keeping up, I quickly snapped out of it, meanwhile I silently reminded myself that the past was in the past, and I had to let it go.

We finally reached the large ornate doors that led into the throne room, the guard told me to wait for a moment while he informed the queen that I had arrived. I acknowledged him as he stepped into the room, leaving me by myself for a moment.

During that time, I thought to myself what I was possibly getting myself into. From what I had heard of Ruby, she was supposedly a much better queen than Scarlet was, but then again, it didn't take much to do that. From what I knew, she had been working with the other queens decently when discussing peace treaties, but had quickly returned to the Skywing kingdom after they had finished, not wanting to leave the throne unguarded for too long in case her mother made a reappearance.

Finally, after several minutes of waiting in the hall, the guard poked his head through the door and told me that it was time for me to meet with Ruby. I nodded as I walked forwards, passing by the guard and entering the throne room.

As the guard closed the throne room door, I could tell that much hadn't changed since the last time I had been here, though like other parts of the castle, the gold that had been in the walls had been removed. Sitting before me at the end of the room was the queen herself, who was holding herself in a relaxed but ready position. She was clearly older than me, but not by much, and had dark red scales, and was wearing several pieces of silver jewelry inlaid with rubies.

Huh, I wonder if that's queen Ruby?

Fake skepticism and humor aside, I made my way to the throne, Ruby's eyes watching me carefully but relaxingly as I approached her. When I was an adequate distance away, I stopped, and then proceeded to bow. Technically, since she wasn't my queen (not that I actually have one of those), I didn't have to bow to her, but after the war ended and I had to help the dragonets with peace treaties, Starflight made it his duty that we all knew how to act in front of royalty, and I figured with me wanting to gain the favor of Ruby, it was probably prudent that I acted more professional in front of her.

"You may rise." Ruby said to me in an amused manner, probably finding it funny that I was bowing to her for some reason. Sure enough, when I rose up, she was smiling softly. "Hello, Static, it is good to finally meet the dragonet's Protector at long last. If you didn't know already, my name is Queen Ruby of the Skywings, and I must ask, even though your presence is welcome, it does leave me curious about what you are doing here. Especially since I've heard you want access to our libraries."

"I have come here for several reasons, the first being that I need to find a Skywing willing to join my group of companions." I explain, which makes Ruby look at me curiously. "As for the access of your libraries, I need to research ancient information concerning Skywings from before and after the Scorching, from records to legends, if you have them and are willing to let me access them, of course."

"If you don't mind me asking, why is it that you need a Skywing in your group? And what history are you looking for specifically? I may be able to help you in both regards, after all. However, you'll need to aid me a little problem myself first, which we'll discuss momentarily."

"I can't go into specifics about either topic, I'm afraid, due to how I'd rather let as few dragons know about my journey as possible. All I can say is that it is of great importance, and that I require a Skywing to join my group in order to accomplish our end goal, which will benefit Pyrrhia as a whole. As for the research, I need to find anything connected to a Sky Tower of sorts, let them be legends, rumors or actual facts, which I doubt."

Ruby definitely looked interested now, if she hadn't before. "I'm not sure how I feel about not knowing the details of such an important sounding journey, but it is not my business to pry, as long as the dragon that goes with you does so willingly and aren't an important part of my staff. As for this…"Sky Tower" you mentioned, I can't say I've heard about it, though I will ask my librarians about it. Now, now that I've helped you, would you be willing to help me?"

"I'll do my best, though I am curious what task the queen of the Skywings would need from me, of course. It must be important, after all, if you're willing to ask me instead of having one of your subjects dealing with it." I said, still curious as to what this task was.

"It is indeed quite important, because I honestly feel that if that if not dealt with correctly, it could result in further disputes with the Icewings, which I would rather avoid." As I looked at Ruby curiously at this statement, wondering what Icewings had to do with this, she suddenly spread her wings and propelled herself up and over me, landing behind me. "If you would follow me, I'll take you to the dungeons and explain in more detail what is happening. I do look forward to hearing an outside opinion on what I should do."

I obliged, following Ruby outside of the throne room. Once we were outside, she explained to the guards where she was going before opening her wings and taking to the air, meanwhile I followed not too far behind.

As we flew through the air, Ruby proceeded to explain the situation. "You see, several weeks ago, there was an attempt on my life. Normally, I would have the perpetrator executed, but the only problem was that it was done from afar, and thankfully I decided to turn my head at the same moment a form of bolt stabbed its way into the wall behind me."

While Ruby continued on her path, landing before a spiral staircase that moved downwards, she went on. "Now, my first assumption was that my mother, ex queen Scarlet, was behind it, or at least one of her allies. However, as we began searching for the assassin, we came across a suspicious Icewing lying unconscious in a street, a form of device next to him that was the same one that shot the bolt at me. Thankfully, one of my guards had seen what he had done and managed to subdue him before he could get away."

When we got to the bottom of the stairs, Ruby led me down a dark, torch lit hallway, which I could only assume that led to the prison cells. "However, the issues come into play when concerning the dragon himself. He claims that he had just been in the Skywing kingdom to return something he had taken during the war, which was supported by the Skywings that he mentioned. His account states that he was just about to leave when he was knocked unconscious, and then found himself in our dungeons."

Ruby proceeded to them lead me down another hallway, which led to several cells, one of which I noticed was being guarded by a single Skywing guard. "As you can see, I'm in a bit of a predicament. I can't execute him due to not having the evidence that he is actually the assassin, and it would be bad for our reputation with the Icewings. However, I can't let him go until he is proven to not be the assassin, and in that case, the assassin still has to be caught."

When we arrived at the cell, I could see both the guard and the cellmate clearly. Standing before me was a female Skywing guard, and behind the cell bars was a male Icewing. The guard was wearing the standard Skywing armor, and orange-red colored scales with golden scales on the edges of her wings, and stared suspiciously at me with yellow colored eyes. Behind her was the Icewing, who had pale light blue scales with several pure white scales that looked like snowflakes, and even though he appeared to be older than me, he was still smaller and skinnier than most Icewings I had met.

Ruby then turned in front of the cell, looking at me while the guard stood up a bit straighter and the Icewing glared behind her. "So this is my proposition. If you work with Pryope here and find out who the real assassin is or can get the Icewing Frostbite to confess, I'll give you and your friends free roam of the castle, at least in all the areas that my citizens are normally allowed in, along with access to our libraries and the resources within. Does this sound fair to you?" Ruby asked.

My eyes widened for a moment as she told me the Icewing's name, making me wonder if this was the same Frostbite that Sahara knew. However, as for Ruby's offer, I decided to agree, knowing that if I would be able to get an assassin off the streets and to free a wrongly convicted, while still getting the information I was hoping to acquire while I was here. "That's perfectly acceptable, and I'd be glad to help."

Ruby nodded and smiled at this, probably confident in my abilities and relieved that an assassin would soon no longer be after her. She then turned towards the Skywing guard, who was looking at me curiously and still semi-suspiciously before standing attentively when Ruby turned towards her. "As you might have just heard Pryope, I want you to work with Static here and find the real culprit to this heinous crime. Is that understood?" Ruby asked.

"Of course, my queen. Though I still believe that we already have him locked up." She said, giving an over-the-shoulder glance at Frostbite, who in return growled at her. Ruby nodded at this, and proceeded to leave me with the two dragons that I felt I was about to get used to working with for the time being.

Once Ruby was gone, I proceeded to sit down before the two dragons, getting myself comfortable for a conversation. "Hello, my name is Static." I said, introducing myself. "So, queen Ruby already gave me a brief telling of what happened, but could I get more details as to the actual events?" As both dragons opened their mouths to speak, I quickly added in. "One at a time, the first being what the Skywings believe, and then what you believe, since you are the accused." I explained, which resulted in a huff from Frostbite and a small grin from Pryope.

"Everyone's heard of you already, but introductions are always good. My name is Pryope, and I've been helping as a guard for queen Ruby since Scarlet left." Pryope said, looking proud at her introduction while Frostbite rolled his eyes. "However, as for the report, it's really simple. Around sunset, when the queen was eating her nightly meal, she was nearly killed as a bolt stabbed its way into the wall behind her, and would have killed her if she hadn't reached down to pick up one of her rubies which had fallen."

"After that, several guards were sent out to find the perpetrator. Soon afterwards, a guard known as Flare managed to subdue Frostbite here, who he claimed he saw having fired the device into the castle before flying away. I've known Flare since he got here, and as one of the longest working guards, he certainly has no reason to lie about his account. Since then, Frostbite was locked up and I was appointed to be his guard, and since the moment I met him he's only spewed insults at me while claiming innocence."

Frostbite glared at Pryope for a moment before realizing she had finished, in which he turned to me. "Alright, now that my guard has finally finished, I'll tell you what really happened, at least when concerning me." He said, making Pryope glare at him as he didn't even use her name. "My name is Frostbite, and I came here to return something a fellow Icewing I had once been friends with had taken from a Skywing corpse from the war, figuring that I had no use of it and it belonged to the dragons that were related to their dead."

"After some searching, I finally managed to find relatives to the dragon in question, who were the first and only Skywings to be nice to me that day. They even offered me a meal, but I turned them down, stating that I didn't want to stay here longer than I should. Looking back, I should have accepted their request, because I soon found myself being hit quite painfully from behind, before everything went black. I then awoke to find myself here, meanwhile being accused of trying to murder their queen."

Pryope turned to the Icewing in annoyance. "Oh, will you give that up already? Sure, you gave those dragons back something that was precious to them. But that still would have given you time to go try and kill our queen afterwards, in which I'm glad that Flare was able to stop you, you criminal!" Pryope said, flaring out her wings.

Frostbite soon returned the gesture, opening up his wings to try and tower over the guard, though his smaller size prevented that. "What reason would I even have for attacking your queen? Why don't you let your biased opinions go for one moment and look at the truth, and it was obviously this Flare dragon that did it, thinking me an easy excuse as an assassin!"

Pryope's eyes widened at this, before glaring at Frostbite. "How _dare_ you? Frostbite was my mentor as a guard, and he is one of the most loyal dragons here! He would never betray the queen!"

"Not even if he was still loyal to that crazed murderer of an ex queen Scarlet?" Frostbite accused, making Pryope step back in shock, before she began glaring at him once more. Meanwhile, I watched, making mental notes and creating theories in my head.

Either way, as the two continued to argue once more, I could tell that this was going to take a while, what with the two dragons I was to work with being at each other's throats. Either, way, it was time for me to get to work and stop an assassin.

Hopefully I'd find them before they could try again.

 **Author's note: Woot, two more important characters introduced. If you haven't guessed it yet, we just met the last two dragons who will be joining Jack in his journey, Pryope and Frostbite (who I would like to thank The SkillRider and DavidRain1234 for submitting these two characters so long ago for me to be able to use them). Anyhow, I am really happy I got this chapter up since I have some tests tomorrow, and I should really be studying, but hey, I like this story, so I've been writing in the small free time I have. Anyway, personal life aside, thank you all for supporting and reading my story, and as usual, the next chapter should be up next week.**


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

After several minutes of thinking to myself about the case, meanwhile Pryope and Frostbite continued to fight, I decided it was time to end their argument. Standing up, I proceeded to look up at the ceiling before I unleashed a torrent of lightning bolts. As the room lit up with the light created and filled with the sound of cackling lightning, the two stopped fighting, the frost and steam that was leaking out from the two's snouts no longer appearing as the two looked over at me in surprise.

Once I was done and was sure I had their attention, I looked over to them. "Alright, now that you two are done arguing amongst each other, I would like us to get to work. Pryope, I understand that you don't trust Frostbite, but I'm going to work under a system of "innocent until proven guilty", and seeing as how the only evidence against him is a single guard finding him with this mysterious weapon, I'm not going to convict anyone yet. Now, if you could both please help me, we can go and try to find out who the real assassin is before they try again."

Pryope did not appear happy with my statement, until I mentioned wanting to stop another assassination attempt, in which she begrudgingly nodded. Frostbite nodded as well, and seemed more calm as he spoke. "I would love to help bring down this assassin, especially since they framed me for their crime. It also wouldn't be good for the Skywing's newly appointed queen to be killed, especially if that witch Scarlet was to return."

At his last comment, Pryope turned to Frostbite, an odd look of respect on her face for what he had said. After a moment, she sighed, before turning to walk down the hall. "Alright, let's get going then and find this culprit. We can't let him go free though, since he's still a suspect, so I'm going to go fetch the wing bindings for now."

I nodded at this as she left, before turning to Frostbite as he began to speak again. "I don't say this often, but thank you for your help." He said, standing up once more, eagerness to get out of the cell appearing in small, antsy movements. "I'm certain that if you hadn't shown up, they would have convicted me to death for certain."

"You're welcome." I said to him. "I'm always trying to help out others if I can, after all, and since the Skywing queen herself asked me to look into it, I knew it must be serious. I do find the timing a bit strange myself though." I said, making Frostbite give me a strange look. "You see, I've been traveling for a while, due to how I need a representative for each dragon tribe for an important mission I'm on. My next stop was here, in the Skywing kingdom, due to how I still need a representative for the Skywings. But not only that, the only other tribe I need is the Icewings, and surprisingly enough, you're the dragon I had been recommended for this. Do you happen to remember a Sandwing by the name of Sahara by any chance?"

Frostbite's eyes went wide for a moment before he nodded. "Yes, I do. She was once of the few tolerable Sandwings at Blaze's fortress the few times I went there. We even had to work together a couple times, due to how we were both scouts, though I was certain she was dead after hearing she had been taken captive by Scarlet, who was known for her gladiator fights. It's good to hear she's alive, at least. Too many good dragons died in that war after all. How is she, after all? How'd she manage to escape Scarlet?"

For a moment, I stood there in silence, remembering mine and Sahara's fight, and the initial outcome. I remembered the consequences of my actions, and how the star shaped scar will never leave Sahara for as long as she lived. I shook myself out of these thoughts though, remembering that in the end, it still ended up saving her life. "It's...a long story." I said, rubbing the back of my head with a claw. "One I'm sure she'd love to tell you, if you decide to join us. After all, she's our Sandwing and a good friend of mine."

Frostbite looked away for a moment, as if in thought, before looking over and giving me the first smile I had seen from him, even if it was a small one. "Alright, I'll join you, but on two conditions. First of all, you'll have to fully explain what this journey you're on is. I'm not about to go with a bunch of random dragons, even if one I know and the other is the Protector, without knowing what's happening. Secondly, you have to prove I'm innocent, or else I can't go with you either way. Deal?" He asked.

I smiled softly at him before nodding. "Those are reasonable enough demands. It's a deal." I said to him, in which Frostbite nodded back at me. After we were finished speaking, Pryope turned around the corner, holding a few wires in her claws. Wires, that once she got closer, I realized were the same kind that restrained the prisoner's wings, including mine, back in Scarlet's arena.

Once she got to us, Pryope seemed to ignore me as she turned to the cell, in which she produced a bronze key from her armor, and opened it. She then proceeded to step into the cell, and began giving directions to Frostbite on when to open a wing or how to move so she could get the bindings on (meanwhile giving a few barks and threats such as "If you try to run, the whole palace will be on you before you can open your wings" and so on).

When she was done, Pryope stepped out of the cell, still looking at Frostbite. "Alright, you are to follow us and to stay with us no matter what. If you try to run, you will be restrained to your cell once more with more proof of your guilt. If you attack anyone, then you will punished for assault and be assumed guilty for the attempted assassination. If you…"

"Alright, I get it." Frostbite said, interrupting her. "Just be a sensible dragon and don't do anything that will make you more suspicious. Got it. Lead the way then. I'm eager to get out of these dark and gloomy tunnels."

"So am I." I said, getting the two's attention before they could try to argue again. "Besides, the sooner we get moving, the sooner we can find the real culprit." I then proceeded to turn to Pryope. "Could you lead us to where any of the guards who found Frostbite might be, specifically the one that knocked him unconscious. Flare, specifically."

Pryope looked at me for a second, her eyes seeming to be searching for something in particular, her gaze unfeeling, before nodding and beginning to lead the way. "Alright then. Flare was given time off until this dispute was settled, so he should be in the guard barracks. Follow me." Pryope said, an edge in her voice as she spoke.

I nodded as Pryope began to walk, and so Frostbite and I did so as well. We kept close together, with Pryope keeping a close eye on Frostbite as we made our way out of the tunnel, though she did keep herself ahead enough that we could follow which way she was going. I had a feeling she was upset with me, more than likely thinking that I assumed that Flare was the real criminal when she believed otherwise.

Even though it was one of my theories, that actually wasn't the case. I did need to ask Flare some questions about the case, but until I got proof, I wasn't certain whether or not he was the assassin. Hopefully my questions will get Pryope to lighten up a bit, because the last thing I needed was to have the guard I was working with be against me while I was still working on finding her queen's would-be assassin.

After walking for a bit in silence, having gone up the stairs and through several hallways, we finally came across a semi-large building connected close to the castle. Through several open holes in the walls that would normally let light in I could see it was still raining, though not as hard as before. Looking back towards Pryope, I could see that we had arrived at our destination as she proceeded to open a large wooden door.

When led inside, I could see several Skywings in and out of guard armor scattered about the room, which was lit by a large stone fireplace on far side of the room. There were several round tables, many of which were occupied by the guards as they ate, drank, and conversed with each other.

Pryope proceeded to walk into the room, in which Frostbite and I followed, with Frostbite staying close to me as several gazes fell upon us. When the guards saw Pryope, several called out greetings, in which Pryope made a small smile, waving lightly at them, though from my angle, I could only ponder if her smile was being forced or not. When they saw Frostbite however, several of them glared at him, not letting him leave their sights until certain that other guards were watching him, even though it would be suicide for him to try something here.

However, their reactions were quite different upon seeing me. When the guards saw me, several looked confused for a moment, wondering who I was and what I was doing there. However, at least one guard knew of me, for soon the whole room was locked in the whispers of the guards as they watched our group, and me specifically, approach a loan table where two Skywings sat. I could hear from their conversations curiosity as to why the Protector was here, and what the Protector was going to do with the Icewing prisoner, making me wish I didn't have that title once more.

When we reached the table that we had been approaching, Pryope made a small smile that seemed more genuine as she greeted the two dragons sitting before us. "Hello Flare and Summit." She said. "I wish I could sit and chat, but unfortunately I'm here to ask you some questions Flare. Would you mind if we sat down?"

Flare was a large male Skywing, with rusted red colored scales and orange eyes. The dragons beside him, Summit, was just a bit smaller than him, and seemed to be constantly grinning, with her dark orange scales reflecting the firelight. When she looked at me, I couldn't help but take a small step back, her unnatural grey eyes seeming to hide something behind them, though I couldn't tell what.

"Sure, anything to get that dragon locked away faster." Flare said while gesturing to Frostbite, who growled lightly back at him. This caused several of the guards to ready themselves, as if they would have to tackle him to the ground at any moment. Pryope and I ignored this, however, and all three of us sat down at the table with the two.

"Wow, it sure is amazing to see the Protector here. Why would such an important dragon be here, especially since it seems like you're trying to help with such a simple crime?" Summit said, looking at me curiously. I couldn't help but feel a small shudder in my wings at her question, her voice having some form of uncertain edge to it that I felt threatening.

"Please, just call me Static." I said, not wanting to be called "Protector" any more than necessary. "As for why I'm here, that's not that important. However, queen Ruby did ask for my help with this, since she was worried about it escalating into troubles with the Icewings. Now, if you wouldn't mind me asking a few questions about the problem at hand, it would be be appreciated."

Flare nodded. "Sure, I'll tell you everything that happened first, that way you can ask any questions you still have afterwords. That alright?" I nodded, in which he began. "Alright, I had been on my guard route after having eaten. I have one of the routes closest to the castle, since I'm entrusted with not allowing anyone who shouldn't be at the castle be here. Anyhow, as I began making my way around the castle, I heard a commotion near the castle, close to where the queen eats her meals. I quickly flew that way, and as I did, I saw this Icewing trying to flee. I quickly caught up to him, and since he didn't realize I was there, I took the opportunity to knock him down, though I didn't kill him since I didn't know what he had done yet. Afterwards, I was approached by several guards, who informed me what he had done, in which we carried away him and the strange contraption he had been using. That's really all there is to know, so if you have any questions, go ahead?" He finished.

While he had been speaking, I examined every detail of his story, along with watching the other's facial expressions for any hints of contradiction. I didn't actually know that much about cross examination, other than the simple playthrough of the "Phoenix Wright" games back home (which frustrated me to no end), but there was something that stuck out to me, especially with the look of confusion from Pryope.

"Yes, I do have a few questions, actually." I said, in which Flare grinned slightly smugly before raising a claw, giving me the go ahead. "Alright, when do the guards typically eat in correspondence to when the queen has her meals? Do you have seperate times per guards or when meals are served?" I asked.

Frostbite and Summit seemed confused by such a seemingly off topic question, meanwhile Flare seemed to flinch as Pryope answered my question. "Since there are so many guards, we take dinner in shifts, taking our turns to eat so we don't fill up the barracks. We do typically eat around the time the queen does, though there are always guards available while she eats. However, Flare, don't you have the dinner shift after queen Ruby eats, not before?" Pryope asked.

Flare seemed anxious while Frostbite seemed smug, meanwhile Pryope looked mildly confused. However, Summit quickly spoke up. "Yes, that's normally true, but I gave him my dinner shift instead, which allowed him to eat before the queen did. Flare here just couldn't wait, so I gave him my shift instead so he wouldn't starve." Summit said, meanwhile Flare was stammering and mildly blushing.

I looked to Flare, in which he nodded before sighing. "I had skipped the first meal that day to get in some extra scrolls that I needed to send out quickly. By the time that was done, I needed to begin my first guard shift. However, that shift went on a bit longer than normal due to preparations for the coming storm, and so I wasn't able to eat at the second meal. So, by the time dinner shift came around, I was starving, but thankfully Summit here gave me her shift instead. After that, the rest of the story goes as I had told it."

Nodding, I decided to push that to the side, due to how it made sense. "Alright then, my next question. How did you manage to sneak up on Frostbite from the air? I could understand you catching up to him if he was running, due to your wingspan, but sneaking up on him? Your wing beats aren't exactly silent, after all." I said. This was true, due to how the entire time I had been here, the constant sound of Skywing wing beats filled the background, giving a surrounding sound that would be hard to miss.

At this, Flare looked away as he answered. "I don't know, maybe he was too busy focusing on escaping to hear me coming? How should I know what went on through this Icewing's head as he ran away from trying to kill our queen?" He asked stubbornly, finally looking back at me with a glare.

I kept my face calm as he glared at me and Frostbite, before slowly speaking again, knowing that one wrong word could set him off, since he seemed on edge. "Look, Flare, I understand that you seem annoyed that Frostbite hasn't already been proven guilty, but I need to ask you a serious and important question, and it's important you answer truthfully, alright? Dragons lives are on the line, after all."

Flare looked at me for a second, as if in decision on what to do, before nodding and sitting back down. "Alright, were you actually the one that knocked Frostbite unconscious? Or did you just find him near the dining area unconscious with a mysterious weapon?" I asked.

His eyes opening wide, Flare looked at me as if I had been reading his mind. He quickly looked away from me, moving his face down much to Pryope's and Summit's confusion, though Frostbite was just looking more smug, his grin transferring between me and Flare.

Finally, Flare looked up and slowly turned his gaze to me. "You're right. I don't fully understand it myself, but when I got over there along my route, I found him unconscious. At first, I was confused as to why an Icewing was there, and unconscious with a strange item no less, but when the other guards arrived and informed me of the situation, I quickly went along with it, easily connecting the dots and seeing that he was the would-be assassin. So even though I had been lying, it doesn't change the fact that he is guilty. Who knows, maybe he flew into a wall in his hurried escape or something." Flare said.

Looking around, I could see that Pryope seemed to look mildly betrayed from what Flare had said, meanwhile Summit's expression was unreadable. I nodded, speaking my final question. "Alright, I just have one more question, and then we should be done here. Summit," I said, getting the dragon's attention, much to everyone's surprise. "Where were you during all of this?" I asked.

Summit seemed taken aback for a moment, before composing herself and answering. "I was just finishing up my normal route around the city before returning to have my late dinner shift. As I was eating, I heard what had happened and rushed with the other guards to ensure the queen was firmly protected. Why does what I was doing matter though?" She asked.

"Nothing really. Just figured I'd ask." I said, in which I proceeded to step away from the table. "Thank you for answering my questions. I believe I know what happened now." I said, giving a small look to Summit, who seemed to shrink back from it slightly, much like I had when I first met her.

Flare looked as confused as Pryope and Frostbite at this. "Well, what happened then? Are you going to go convict this dragon now?" He asked, getting another growl from Frostbite, who he was once again gesturing to.

Shaking my head, I answered him. "I'm afraid I can't say, at least not right now. You'll probably hear about it after I go tell your queen, after I go get something to eat, of course. I haven't had anything to eat all day, you see, and I figured I'd tell your queen once I was done."

Flare nodded while Pryope and Frostbite followed me, in which we soon exited the guard barracks. The two quickly caught up to me, both looking confused. "Static, if you really know who the culprit is, we should go tell the queen right away. Your meal can wait, you know!" Pryope said in annoyance.

I spoke quietly as we kept moving. "I'm not actually going to eat right now. Currently, I'm trying to draw out the assassin, that way we can not only stop them in person, but also have evidence that they are in fact the assassin as they try to kill me. We just have to find a friend of mine, first, who I believe is currently in the cafeteria, if you could lead me there."

Frostbite and Pryope both seemed surprised by my statement, as Pryope began quickly leading the way. "What do you mean, the assassin is probably going to be coming after you? Shouldn't we tell the queen that way you're protected?" Pryope asked.

Shaking my head, Frostbite seemed to realize my plan. "No, because he's trying to prove they're the assassin by trying to have them kill him, that way it's obvious they are the killer. Clever, if not stupid if you do end up getting killed." Frostbite said as we reached the cafeteria.

When we arrived, I could see several stone tables laid out before us. Much like the throne room, there was an open wall, which showed the rainstorm outside. There weren't that many dragons around, due to how it wasn't one of the times where meals were typically served, but two dragons in particular stuck out to me, in which I quickly approached them.

"Ugh, I'm starting to get sick of all these meat involved meals. I mean, sure, I'm not as crazy about fruit like most other Rainwings, but i'm starting to crave a peach or banana right about now." Singularity complained to Asteroid, who just nodded as she picked at a bit of goat before her.

The two soon saw me approaching them, in which Singularity lit up like a christmas tree as she saw me, while Asteroid smiled softly over at me. Asteroid's smile quickly dissipated as she heard either the thoughts of Pryope or Frostbite, in which she quickly stood up. "What do you mean, there's going to be an assassin after Static? We just managed to stop that last one!" She said, much to the surprise of my current companions.

Singularity looked shocked and confused at what Asteroid said, but I quickly spoke before either of them could speak up again. "It's a long story, one I don't have time to explain right now, aside from the fact I'm trying to catch a killer right now. Asteroid," I said, turning to her, "I need your help so I don't accidentally get killed. Do you think you can see when this assassin will try to come for me?" I asked.

Asteroid gave me a look at my statement, one that seemed to promise a future conversation about how I got into this mess, and while Singularity looked worried about an assassin coming after me, Asteroid sighed and replied, "Alright, I'll try. Just give me a moment."

I nodded while Frostbite and Pryope seemed confused as to what was occuring for some reason, meanwhile Asteroid closed her eyes and breathed deeply, putting herself into deep concentration.

While she focused, Pryope turned to me in confusion. "What is your Nightwing friend doing? I thought that the Nightwings no longer had any powers?" She asked, making it my turn to look at her in confusion.

"That is true, but Asteroid is the one exception, since she has never been with her tribe. But when did you hear about that? I thought they were going to keep that secret."

Frostbite spoke up next, shaking his head. "There was a statement released from their queen telling all of the tribes that the Nightwings no longer had any powers. By the looks of it though, she forgot to mention the one exception." He said, giving Asteroid a look that showed that he was uncertain of her now knowing her abilities.

I flinched, knowing that we hadn't informed Glory of Asteroid's powers, since we were in a rush to leave and she had just met her. I made a mental note to let Glory know about Asteroid, that is, if Asteroid decided to tell Glory or not, and even then there was still the problem is Glory would believe her or not. "That's because Asteroid has been with me for a while, and only just met queen Glory before we met. She doesn't exactly know one of her subjects still has powers."

The two looked like they still had more questions to ask, and even though I was glad they had a common interest for once and weren't arguing with each other, this wasn't exactly a conversation I was sure I wanted to have. Thankfully, Asteroid stopped them from asking any more questions, though in not the best way.

Asteroid's eye's suddenly opened widely, and she jumped forwards, knocking us both to the floor. Right as she did, there was a noise like that of something hitting stone right behind where I had been standing before. Singularity let out a yelp, looking at the broken bolt on the ground as I got up quickly, facing the outside world.

Sure enough, I could see through the rain a lone figure, holding a device that I recognized as similar to a crossbow in one hand, as they stood outside, their wings unfolding as they prepared to fly away. I quickly ran forward after them, opening my own wings and yelling out to the others, "Pryope, go get your queen and some guards! Tell them I've found the assassin!" I didn't wait for a response as I jumped into the sky, the rain covering up any response any of them had.

I could tell from their wingspan that they were, in fact, a Skywing, and from the way they quickly zoomed around corners of the castle as they tried to get away from me, I knew for a fact that they had the layout of the castle well memorized. But even then, as had been compared many times, I had the same large wingspan as they did, so I beat my wings as hard as I could, desperate to stop the dragon that had just tried to kill me.

After all, if I didn't stop them now, they could always strike again.

Flying quickly, I zoomed after the dragon, and I could tell that even though they were experienced flying here, the rain was throwing them off, and as I steadily got closer, I could tell that they were smaller than I was, which hopefully gave me an advantage.

As we flew through the rain, our wings carrying us around the castle, a burst of lightning showed me that I was, in fact, still in danger of being killed. For in that single burst of lightning close enough that it lit up the sky, I was able to see two things that could show my death if I was not careful.

Firstly, my assassin had stopped, turning around quickly and trying to find me in the rain as they held the makeshift crossbow up, another bolt ready to be fired. Secondly, behind a spire next to me was a second dragon, a spear clutched in his hands as he flew at me, the only thing I could see underneath the brown cloak he wore being that of a Skywing's snout grinning at me.

Having a split second to decide, I made a decision on what to do, and once more, like several times in the past, time seemed to slow down, with the rain itself seeming to fall much slower. Turning to the dragon on my left, I quickly closed my wings, sending me straight for him. His grin dissipated as I rammed into him, though I suppressed a scream of pain as the spear cut through my side.

Right as I hit him, I reached my claws out, grabbing tightly around the wings of the second assassin, in which I quickly opened my wings once more and quickly moved them in a way that they spun the two of us in the air as the second assassin fought to stay in the air.

The second that we stopped spinning, I heard the sound of the crossbow going off just barely over the sound of the rain, and just a moment after that, the sound of it connecting to flesh. After the bolt connected, the second assassin screamed in pain, his wings giving out.

Taking this opportunity and spying the second assassin from the corner of my eye, who was currently hovering in the air in shock at the realization of who they had hit, I proceeded to grab the second assassin before he fell from the sky. Grunting with excursion due to his weight, I used my wings to once more quickly spin me before I yelled out, using all the strength I had to hurl him in the direction of the first assassin.

Neither were expecting this, but the first assassin quickly recovered, the time of which it took for the second assassin to reach her plenty for them to move out of the way and attempt to grab them themselves, hoping to stop them from plummeting to the ground. As the first assassin grabbed the second one, speaking to them and telling them to get ready to fly once more, the second assassin only had time to nod and open his wings before the two remembered I was still there.

Looking over at me, the two yelled out in shock as a smaller than normal burst of lightning hit the two. I had minimized how much I had let out, afraid of killing them due to the rain making them more vulnerable. But thankfully, it had been enough to render them unconscious, for once they had been shocked, the two began to fall to the ground.

I quickly flew down and grabbed them both by their cloaks as the crossbow and spear fell to the stone ground below. I grunted once more, using all the strength in my wings as I could muster as we began to fall downwards.

As I wondered if this would be the death of the three of us, I suddenly felt my weight lighten. Opening my eyes, I saw around me several Skywing guards, many of which were aiding in helping me stop the fall. Further away, I could see Pryope, a freed Frostbite, Singularity, Asteroid, and queen Ruby, who were quickly approaching us as we landed on top of a part of the castle.

When we landed, Ruby approached me. "I hope that you are correct to assume that these two dragons are in fact my assassins, though from hearing about what had happened from Pryope here, and seeing that nasty gash on your side, I would assume you're right."

Singularity let out a gasp at seeing my wound, and was quickly by my side with her medical bag as we approached the two dragons who were currently bound by several guards in front of us. As we approached, the guards pulled off their hoods, which resulted in shock from Ruby, Pryope, and the surrounding guards.

For the assassins were Summit and Flare.

 **Author's Note: Heh, I bet you were originally thinking it was just one of them, specifically Summit. But ha!, my brain decided last minute to make them both guilty! Why? ...heck if I know. Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, due to how I actually had a lot of fun writing it, especially the last battle part, which, the chase scene specifically, can be connected to this story's awesome cover! And now that we have 40 whole flippen chapters in this story, we're getting close to reaching the final portion of this story, since next chapter will involve learning about the Sky tower along with getting our final 2 companions. Woot! So as this story gets closer and closer to unfortunately ending for the time being, I would like to thank you all so, so much for your support on this story. Don't worry, it won't end until Static/Jack sees this journey finished, but I do have other writing projects I would like to get done after this (though I do have ideas to continue when I find time to get around to it). So thank you all for reading so much, and the next chapter will be up next week.**


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

"So as it turns out, Summit and Flare were both assassins loyal to my mother, ex queen Scarlet." Ruby explained as Frostbite, Pryope and I stood in front of her back in the throne room. "They had been loyal to my mother since they were recruited as guards for her, and were sent a message from her to kill me, though we have no idea how the message was sent."

Ruby sighed as she slumped into her chair, rubbing her eyes tiredly with her claws. "Unfortunately, this means that I will have to keep my guards under watch as well, to ensure there are no more loyalists ready to take my life to put my mother back in rule. However, that matter doesn't concern you." Ruby said, sitting up once more and smiling at me.

"I would like to personally thank you, Static, for your service in stopping my assassins. You will be allowed free roam of my castle, at least to those that the public are allowed in, and if you ever need my aid, my throne room's doors will always be open to you." She finished, in which I nodded, thanking her as she turned to Frostbite, who was wearing a blank expression on his face.

"As to you, Frostbite of the Icewings, I give my sincerest apologies for the trouble you were mixed up in, and I hope that this situation hasn't changed any opinions you may have towards my subjects. As is such, you will also be granted to roam my castle, if you wish, though I can understand if you want to leave."

Frostbite just huffed and nodded, still blaming Ruby for having been wrongly imprisoned. "Just see that this doesn't happen again. Such accusations to some dragons could create more problems then you would like." He then turned to leave, but quickly stopped beside me. "I'll be waiting outside. We can talk again out there." And with that, he left, not stopping to see the slightly saddened look from Ruby and the annoyed look from Pryope.

"He's not wrong, unfortunately." Ruby said, much to Pryope's surprise. "If he had been royalty from any of the other tribes, keeping him prisoner would have resulted in war, more than likely. I'll have to be more careful, in the future." Ruby then looked over to me. "You may leave now, Static. I'll have Pryope take you to the castle's library after I finish talking to her. And...again, thank you for your help." Ruby said, sounding much more sincere this time.

I smiled up at the queen, now seeing and understanding she was nothing like her mother, and it would be good for the Skywings to have a dragon like her in charge. "I am glad I was able to help, your highness." And with that, I gave a slight bow out of respect before following Frostbite's footsteps outside.

Once the large doors closed behind me, I walked up to Frostbite, who was standing beside a wall and impatiently clicking his claws against the ground. "Oh, good, you're finally done talking. So, I've been thinking about your proposition..." Frostbite trailed off.

"Yes, what about it? I take it you'll want to know more details before accepting, I assume." I said. Frostbite huffed out a small plume of ice before nodding, not liking how I had guessed his actions. "Yes, well, I'll give the simple details now, since I'll more than likely have to say this again soon. Essentially, there is a powerful and ancient animus dragon who wants to be put to rest. Unfortunately, she is also going crazy, and if we don't stop her soon, the continent will be bathed in fire and chaos. We'll need a representative of each tribe to even get to her, and even then our odds aren't that good. Questions?" I asked.

Frostbite looked at me seriously for a moment before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. With his eyes still closed, he slowly said, "I could tell by the way you were speaking you were being serious. I'm not liking the sound of any of this, so I'll start off with basic questions. First, what exactly are our odds?"

"Well, according to Asteroid, who is our Nightwing you met briefly earlier, there is a possibility of us succeeding, though not by much. Our chances go from slim to none though if we don't have a dragon from every tribe, which is our only way to get to her."

Frostbite nodded before asking another question. "Alright then. How many dragons know of the impending doom that is possibly coming, and how long do we have?" He asked. I paused for a second, going over the dates in my head and how long I had been traveling.

"About seven months left." I replied, my heart sinking when I realized it had already almost been half a year since this journey started, and half of our time was almost gone. It made sense though, since we had gone all over Pyrrhia, having to stop for days or weeks at a time due to injuries or other causes.

"Making sure the public doesn't panic after having a twenty year long war end? That's a good idea, though it will be bad for them if they don't know the trouble they're in if it does arrive." Frostbite said. "Alright, one last question. What other dragons do you have yet to need to join you?" He asked.

"At least a Skywing, and an Icewing if you choose not to join us. I don't have any ideas as to who the Skywing should be though, since I haven't had any time to ask around for one that would want to join us. I will ask the others though, unless you have anyone in mind?"

Frostbite snorted, as if my question was funny. "No, I don't have any Skywings in mind. Seeing as how they've been treating me so far, I'd rather you just not have a Skywing if the option was available, though I can see it's not." Frostbite was silent for another moment before saying, "Alright, I'll do it. It's obvious that you and the rest of your group will need me, after all."

I smiled lightly at this, glad to know that we now had our Icewing. Holding out my hand for him to shake, Frostbite stared at it for a second before slowly taking it in his own, and then we shook. "It will be good to have you with us then." I said, letting go of the handshake. "I'll have to introduce you to the others so they know you'll be joining us, of course. Now, as to where they are currently…"

As I began to ponder where my friends were currently, I was suddenly grabbed from behind, with bright yellow scales appearing around my neck as Singularity suddenly appeared, hugging me as she did so. "Static, it's so good to see that you're alright!" She said, hugging me once more before letting go and inspecting the wound on my side. "Your wound will be fine, won't it?" She asked.

I smiled back at Singularity for her concern before nodding. "Yes, I already had it looked at by both you and Ruby's nurses, and you've both said it would be fine. Thankfully the wound isn't any deeper, or it would have hit much worse and more than likely scar. But I'll be fine though, so don't worry." I said to Singularity, in which she sighed in relief.

"Well, that's good to know, at least." Singularity said, before finally looking up and noticing Frostbite, who was looking at Singularity with a raised eyebrow (scalebrow? Heck if I know what to call it.) "Oh, you're that Icewing we met briefly earlier. Hi, my name is Singularity! What's yours?" She said.

Before Frostbite could answer, someone spoke up behind us. "His name is Frostbite, former Icewing scout during the war." Turning around, I could see Sahara walk up towards us, a small smile on her face. "We used to work together on a few scouting expeditions. Hello Frostbite, it's good to see you again." Sahara said.

Frostbite huffed before speaking. "If you know me so well, then you should know I hate being interrupted." After a moment of silence, he continued. "But it is good to see you again, Sahara. Many of the other scouts thought you were dead after your disappearance."

Sahara shook her head. "No, I wasn't dead. Scarlet had just managed to hold me hostage and fight in her little arena is all, until Static here helped me escape." Sahara said, nudging me in the side playfully. "I can tell you all about it if you want me to while we get something to eat, and then maybe you can tell me what you've been up to as well?" Sahara asked.

Frostbite looked at her for a second before rolling his eyes and nodding. "Fine, but if the castle staff charges us anything, I hope you understand you're paying." He said, in which Sahara laughed lightly.

"I doubt they will, but of course anyway." She said, making her way to catch up with Frostbite who had already began to walk away. She quickly looked back towards Singularity and I. "I'll talk to you later Static! Everyone's already been informed by guards that we have free roam, and you'll find everyone else in the library!" And with that, she turned a corner and out of sight.

Smiling at the actions Sahara had just taken, I turned towards Singularity, who was smiling at me. "Should I take you to where the others are?" She asked. "Last I checked, they hadn't found anything yet about the Sky Tower, but maybe they've found something by now."

I shook my head. "Not yet. In a minute the other dragon that was with me earlier, Pryope, is going to show me to the library once she's done talking to Ruby. I wouldn't want her to worry or think that I left her, after all, since that would be rude." Singularity nodded at my explanation, before suddenly hugging me once more.

Something about her hug was different from the last one, though, since she hugged me more tightly than before, and her scales began to turn blue. "You really should stop getting yourself hurt." She said, and I could tell she was currently looking at my newly acquired injury. "Because if you're not careful, then one day maybe the injury will be worse than you think."

My wings swept around to hug Singularity, and some of the blue parted from their touch. "I know, and I don't try to get hurt. After all, that would be counterproductive." I said, trying to make a small joke to lighten the mood. "Besides, as soon as we find that tower, I think I'll be finished with these adventures, which will also hopefully mean less injuries."

Singularity nodded before letting go and leaving the hug. As she looked up and smiled at me, her eyes hoping that maybe this would be my last adventure as well, the door to the throne room began to open. We both turned to the door to see Pryope closing it behind her before walking up to us.

"Alright, if you're ready to go to the library, then I'll lead the way." She said, before looking at Singularity. After a quick suspicious glance, she turned her head back towards me. "A friend of yours, I assume?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yes. Her name is Singularity." I said, in which Singularity proceeded to introduce herself. Pryope seemed curious for a moment, as if wondering if Singularity would try anything, before shrugging and walking forwards, with a flick of her tail showing that we were to follow.

After a moment of silence, Pryope spoke up. "So, according to Queen Ruby, you're currently on some form of mission, are you not?" She asked. "One that requires a Skywing to join you? Why is that?" She asked.

Silently pondering why Ruby told Pryope about my quest after asking her not to talk about it, I proceeded to answer as I always had, saying that it was important and that I needed a dragon from every tribe, though couldn't currently give more details unless a Skywing did decide to join us. "And have you chosen a Skywing yet?" Pryope asked.

I looked towards Singularity, who shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. All of the Skywings we've talked to so far say that they're too busy, if they even give us time to talk with them that is. Most of your tribe doesn't like talking to other dragons it would seem." She said to Pryope.

Pryope actually laughed a little at that, before nodded. "Yes, that's true. Even if you're a Skywing, most won't even talk to you unless you seem mildly important. Well, most of them that is. There are a few exceptions at least, though they've hard to find at times."

"So why the interest in my journey?" I asked Pryope. "Do you know any Skywings that might want to join us? After all, as you said, most probably aren't going to work with a large group of random dragons."

Pryope stopped walking for a second before lowering her head and sighing. "Well, that mildly connects to my talk with Queen Ruby. You see, she told me about your journey, and after how I had shown loyalty in aiding in stopping the assassins, she gave me a proposition. If I was to go with you as your Skywing, then I would be promoted to Head Guard, and would help her lead the guards once I got back."

I shook my head. "Look, that's very appreciated, but I don't want the dragon that goes with us going just because their queen told them to. I'm sure that if we go back and talk to queen Ruby, we can get you that position without you…" I stopped talking as Pryope held up her hand for me to stop talking.

"Well, I actually declined her offer." Pryope said, much to my surprise. After all, all I had known of this dragon in front of me was loyalty to her queen, who she had essentially just said no to. "I decided, after seeing you in action, with how serious you were about saving my queen, even though she isn't your ruler, and even putting yourself in danger to help not only her, but also a complete stranger that, somehow, you knew was innocent, I decided I would go with you without the promise of a promotion I know I'm not ready for." She explained, and after a second, added in, "If you'll let me join you, of course."

I smiled at her and nodded. "That'd be great, and it will be good to have you along. According to Sahara, who is our Sandwing, most of the others should be in the library, aside from her and Frostbite, so at least you'll get a chance to meet most of the others, though I won't really go into the heavy details as to what is happening until Frostbite is there, since I have yet to inform him as well."

"Frostbite is part of your group?" Pryope asked, her voice tense. I winced slightly at this, having forgotten about their current relationship. I mildly cursed myself at this, hoping it wouldn't create issues, especially since Frostbite, who seemed a bit colder (heh, ice pun), wouldn't probably like the fact that his former guard is our Skywing. That is, if she still decided to join us due to this.

"Yes, he is, though I haven't gotten to talk to him that much yet about it. But he does understand that this is gravely important, so he has decided to join us as our Icewing." I explained, though Pryope didn't seem that satisfied with my answer. I sighed before looking at her. "Look, I'm going to be blunt and to the point. Pyrrhia is in great danger, and we're the only ones that can stop it. We _need_ him if we're to succeed, and we'll need you too as our Skywing. You two don't have to like each other, but you'll both have to at least work together for the best outcome to actually be possible."

Pryope looked uncertain before slowly nodding. "Alright, I'll work with him, though I'm not too sure he'll feel the same about me. Sure, he wasn't the assassin and he did say some things that made me respect him, but before you arrived, we both said things to each other that didn't exactly put us on the best of terms."

I nodded, though Singularity actually looked uncertain about all this. "Static, are you sure this is the best idea? If they really don't have the best relationship, shouldn't we find someone else for a Skywing? I mean, no offense Pryope, but what if Frostbite decides not to join us after all, due to how he feels about her?"

"Then, if we fail, he'll know that it was mildly his fault Pyrrhia falls." I said calmly, but then shook my head at the surprised looks from both Singularity and Pryope, both having been caught off guard by my morose comment. "But I doubt that will happen. He told me himself that he's joining us because he knows how important it is, and I doubt he'll leave because of his feelings towards Pryope. And if he does, then don't worry. I'll talk to him."

My two companions both looked uncertain of this, but I felt that this was right. I couldn't describe it, but I had a feeling every time I looked at the dragon that would join us. It was a feeling I hadn't gotten from any other dragon, and every time, not only had I been right, but I also soon became friends with these dragons.

I felt this same way with both Frostbite and Pryope, so no matter what happened, I knew that they were our Icewing and Skywing.

Thankfully, our current conversation ended as we rounded another corner, finding ourselves in front of a large doorway. Inside were large stone shelves stocked with several scrolls, with the stone having one label or another underneath dictating which scrolls were where. The room was also fairly large, with several dragons I recognized being able to fly around and not bump into each other as they either grabbed or placed back scrolls.

I chuckled mildly to myself as I entered, knowing not only would Starflight have loved to be in this room, with hours or even days of his time being eaten up if he chose to, but also that Peril was probably never allowed in here, or else this world's version of the burning of the library of Alexandria. Having entered, I could see that the room was primarily lit up from windows that showed outside, but since it was raining, there were also candles that were covered by glass, as to prevent any accidents.

Walking up to a stone table, I saw several scrolls strone about, with Asteroid and Rivlet studying several of them furiously, with their eyes trailing over the papers as fast as possible, while still searching for any information that seemed important. Meanwhile, Sara and Tempest would fly down and grab any scrolls that had been rolled up once more, while still placing down any more that might yield information.

"Have any luck yet finding any information about the Sky Tower?" I asked, turning my head to look at the scroll that Rivlet was currently looking at. Asteroid rose up a talon towards me, telling me to wait, while Rivlet looked up, surprise on his face as if he had been so focused on the scroll that he had forgotten where he was.

"Unfortunately, no." Rivlet said, shaking his head. "I've already gone through several history scrolls, but all that I've found is mentions of olden tails that are unimportant, such as how the Nightwing kingdom originally fell apart, rumors of a lost continent, and some legend of a Hive or something. Most of it seems quite interesting, but sadly currently unimportant."

I sighed, knowing that our luck in finding information about it was probably slim. "Alright, well, good work so far at least, and if you need to take a break, feel free to. I'm going to start joining you in reading in a moment, so I can easily take your place if you need it."

"Sorry, but that's not going to happen bro." Sara said, flying beside me as she placed a few scrolls down before grabbing one that Asteroid had just pushed away. "Whatever language they use for writing, it's not what we know. I can at least point out the words "history" and "legends", since Asteroid showed me, but we can't read any of it unfortunately."

"And I'm fine as well, at the moment." Rivlet said as he pulled up another scroll. "I find this to be a great way for me to learn more about Pyrrhia's history, and I'm doing so in a way that allows me to be more helpful."

I nodded as I walked up to Sara. "Think you can show me those words then? I can at least help in getting scrolls, at least." I said, before turning to Singularity. "I take it your time in the rainforest means you can't read either?" I asked teasingly, in which she nodded guiltily, though she was at least smiling. "Then you can quickly introduce Pryope to the others before helping us find more scrolls. And Pryope, would you help us search? We're looking for any information concerning some form of Sky Tower, let it be actual history or a legend."

Pryope nodded, in which she made her way to the a table and proceeded to grab a scroll. "I never really was the big into reading, but if finding whatever this tower is is really that important, then I'd be glad to help."

I nodded at her, giving her a small smile. She noticed my smile, and just shrugged sheepishly, not seeming used to niceties. And so, after Sara showed me what to look for, our process of elimination in looking for information concerning the Sky Tower began.

After about an hour or so of searching (with no luck, unfortunately), Sahara finally returned, with Frostbite right behind her. Frostbite stopped, however, when he noticed Pryope. At first, he seemed confused, and then upset, but after a moment, his anger turned into mild annoyance, before finally he sighed, though he stayed silent about how he felt about her joining us.

I watched the two carefully for a few moments, but thankfully nothing arose from the two, probably due to how they were at different tables away from each other. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding, glad that nothing had broken out due to their past experiences of each other, but then again, it had only been a few minutes, and I still had to get them working together instead of away from each other.

After deeming that I would talk to the both of them of our journey after we were finished searching through the scrolls, I decided to get back to work. However, after having depositing a few more scrolls and grabbing the old ones, I noticed something peculiar out of the corner of my eye. Quickly placing the scrolls back into their original place, I quickly flew over to the glimmering object that was out of everyone else's sight.

Standing over the object, I looked around hesitantly, due to how it was still shimmering, and yet, there was no light source nearby that could be causing it. Wondering if I should inform the others before grabbing whatever it was, I decided a quick look to make sure it was actually important would be good.

Grabbing the object in question, which was alone on a small, empty shelf in the corner of the room, I pulled out a glimmering scroll. As I held it in my hands, I could tell that there was something special about what I was holding, as it resonated some strange feeling, and its surface gleamed like pure gold.

I knew, at that moment, that whatever it was, that it was animus touched.

Slowly unrolling the scroll, mildy unsure if doing such a thing was wise, I suddenly felt the scroll roll completely out before me, showing in great detail a large tower. My eyes went wide as I saw it, for the tower was, according to the scroll, several stories high, but not only that, was completely hidden, due to how, thanks to animus magic, it was built on a cloud that was always moving.

The scroll in my hands was about the Sky Tower.

My curiosity getting the better of me, now that I held the scroll in my talons, I decided to look at the information concerning the entrance. However, when I looked down, there was no information about it, or any other information about the tower at all, with the picture taking up the entire scroll (save the description at the top).

At first, I felt my heart drop, thinking that I had gotten so close, and yet I was still so far. However, after a second, I suddenly had the urge to touch the picture of the tower's door. With nothing else to do, I obliged in my curiosity, and my surprise increased when the scroll began to change.

I watched as the ink of the scroll swirled around, the tower disappearing as its structure was destroyed, with a new one being built in its place a moment later. I watched in fascination as a large, ornate circular door, with beautiful carvings of dragons swirling about it. I noticed, after a second, that the dragons were of each tribe, and that, in the place of their eyes, were gems with colors respective of each tribe.

Looking at the door, I was amazed at its detail and beauty, but my attention to it was taken away as more ink on the side stopped swirling, with a new inscription appearing. _"The Sky Tower's door was built to be almost impenetrable in the case of war, and with the tower being nearly indestructible, it is the only entrance to the tower. The door can only be opened if a dragon from every tribe were to approach it at once, or if the special key for it was currently being wielded."_

My eyes opened at this, wondering why I was never informed of this key. However, I decided to keep reading, ignoring that, since, in a way, we already had a key now. _"The tower, a virtually unstoppable fortress, is accessible from two locations, even though there is only one door. The first entrance is located on the tower itself, though, due to how it is always moving, this makes it nearly inaccessible."_

" _However, there is another way to reach the door from the mainland, as a precaution in case its current owner, for example, the animus who owns its key, gets separated from the tower. The second entrance is still protected by the same precautions, still making it difficult to get into, but can be found underneath Pyrrhia's tallest mountain, which is currently known as Jade Mountain."_

I froze at this, and was shocked so much at this information, that I had to read it several times over to make certain that I hadn't misread it. I sat back after being certain that it was right, letting the scroll fall to the ground in front of me.

That was where my other friends were, the dragonets of destiny, and I remembered something that Storm had told me when I had first met her. She had told me that no matter what that the dragonets were not to be the ones to open that door. Sure, a part of me easily said that it would be fine since Glory was still ruling in the jungle, and they didn't have an Icewing or Skywing, but then my thoughts reminded me of the fact that they were building a school, and that not only would they have students of every tribe which might accidentally open the door, but what if queens or other dragons decided to inspect the school for themselves? How far away did the dragons need to be to open the door? Had they already found it? What if it was already open?

And then my thoughts drifted to what would happen if they did manage to open the door. If it was the dragonets, then Storm's warning could mean trouble for them, which made me worry for my friends. If it was their students, then they would go in out of curiosity, unaware of the potential danger they were in.

As I panicked, I heard a chuckle in front of me. Looking up, I felt my heart sink as my eyes locked onto Tornado's, her sinister grin gleaming before me. "Well well well, it would seem my other half left one last clue for you that I failed to notice. How intriguing, but, irrelevant." As she said this, she snatched the scroll from me, and, before I could try to do anything, the scroll burst into flames, with there only being ash a moment later.

"Don't bother calling your friends," Tornado said, taking a step towards me. "I've frozen time around the two of us, so we won't be interrupted." My heart fell at this, knowing that she had gotten stronger since we had last spoken. "It would make it easy to kill you, but then, that wouldn't exactly be fair."

"However, I decided, with you now knowing my tower's location, to give you a chance." As she said this, she quickly burst forward so fast that I could barely see her, and a moment later, I found myself trapped underneath her claws.

As I began to struggle, she lowered her head down to mine. "I may not have all my power back, but I could certainly kill you right now with no issues, so _cease your struggling_." She said, tightening her grasp on me. I stopped moving, in which she eased her grip a bit.

"Good, now you'll listen to what I have to say." Tornado said. "I'll give you and your friends one last chance. Leave the continent, never come back, and don't tell a soul about me, and I'll let all of you live. I'll even let you take your little dragonets of destiny with you, since I feel like being generous. However, if you choose to stay, and even decide to come after me, I will not hesitate to _kill you all_." Tornado growled. "If you take one step into my tower, your fates are sealed, and I will ensure you _suffer_ before I finally wipe your pesky, annoying lives out of this world _forever."_

Tornado let go of me, and as I struggled to get up, she turned away, snapping her claws to form a portal in front of her. "I'll give you until I return, which I sure you know when that is. If you're still here, or during that time come after me, you'll regret every moment you breath when I have my claws around you."

And with that, Tornado stepped through the portal, snapping once more to close it behind her. I stayed there, on the ground, before slowly making my way back up and around to my friends. At first, they didn't notice me, but after seeing my grim expression, Singularity spoke up, getting the other's attention. "Static, is something wrong?" She asked.

I stood there for a second, unsure of what to say, before making up my mind. "Get ready to go. We're going to Jade Mountain."

 **Author's Note: Another week, another chapter. Also, some important announcements. First of all, I have estimated that with the current release schedule, the current arc will end most likely on February 14th, which means, after this chapter, there will be roughly 6 more chapters. Next, I have decided, for the moment, that once this is done, I will be ending this story, at least temporarily. I know that many of you love this story, and have told me you don't want it to end. However, I have decided that, after almost a year of writing this story, with several hours dedicated to writing it, that I want to begin writing other stories.** _ **Actual**_ **stories, and not just fanfiction (though I do have fun doing so). This is due to how I aspire to be an author one day, and need to begin working on original story ideas. I want to begin writing things other than this single story for Wings of Fire, and I hope that you all will understand this. However, as I said, this may only be temporary, and I might come back to it one day, since I do have several sequel ideas, and I would like to rewrite the first few chapters. Also, I would like to thank you all for your support. Thanks to you, I not only currently have the longest Wings of Fire story written, but I also am #6 in favorites and #3 in follows. This makes me proud, as an aspiring author, and I couldn't have made it here without all of your support, so thank you. So, with that being said, thank you all for reading this far, and the next chapter will be up next week.**


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Right after I had told the others where we were going, I immediately left, going to grab my gear while advising the others to do the same. A few of them were surprised and confused with how I was acting, being more authoritative and sudden, meanwhile giving no explanation for as to why. Singularity and Sara were the first to approach me after I had left the room, both knowing that something was off.

"Jack, what's wrong?" Sara asked, looking at me with concern when she saw the look on my face, which held an extremely serious and focused gaze that kept looking forwards, as if focused on something that wasn't there.

"Does it have something to do with the Tower? Were you able to find anything about it?" Singularity asked, but I kept walking, making my way to where I had left my gear when I had first arrived. Singularity instantly grew more concerned at how I was treating her, and tried placing a hand on my shoulder.

Imagine her surprise when I immediately turned towards her, a look of anger, surprise and fear on my face.

Sara and Singularity looked at me, wide eyed at my reaction. I finally acknowledged the two, and seeing the way I had reacted, I immediately fell back, not believing myself how I had reacted. "I'm...I'm sorry. I need to go and collect my thoughts. I'll explain later." I hastily said, before spreading my wings and fleeing before either could reply.

My mind was still reeling from my encounter with Tornado, doubt crushing me more than it has ever before in my life. The moment she placed me under her claws, I was certain I was going to die, and nobody would know until it was too late. Tornado had become so powerful...I honestly wasn't sure we _could_ defeat her anymore.

Maybe that's why I was considering her offer.

I landed in front of my bag, just staring at it for a moment, lost in thought once more. If I led the others to Tornado's lair, we would all die...and it would be all my fault. These dragons, some of whom I've befriended, others I'm still getting to know, and others I felt more deeply about...they'd all die because of my decision.

After grabbing my gear, I slowly began walking to the castle entrance, where we would all meet. As I walked, I could only think about what would happen if we did flee. Sure, we'd all live, and there would even be one of every dragon tribe (if not more, with the dragonets), but even then, I was sentencing several hundred if not thousands of dragons to their deaths. So in the end, it came down to one decision:

Lie to my friends to save them, but thousands die, or tell them the truth, in which we either all die, or we actually do manage to save Pyrrhia.

I quickly turned towards an open part of the castle, jumping out and spreading my wings. My wings greeted the no longer raining but still cloudy sky, taking me high up to one of the empty towers of the castle. I landed at the top, in which I then looked around. Seeing nobody near me, I did the one thing I could think to do at that moment.

I stared at the sky, pleading it to hold answers.

No one person should have to face a life or death situation this large. Especially not someone who just about a year ago worried more about test scores and how I was doing academically. But, remembering of my old life, I also remembered the old books I would read.

If the protagonist faced this decision, they would risk everything for the greater good, since it would be selfish to save just their friends. But as I kept trying to tell everyone, I wasn't a hero. And yet, everyone still believed I was one, after everything I had done.

I slammed my talons into the stone beneath me, conflicted emotions striking me. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Originally, I was to just live out my life like a normal person, but then things changed when I came here. Then I had to help my friends end a war, and hopefully I'd be able to rest or find my way home afterwards, but once more, life had other plans for me, facing me with several decisions that made my old problems look like nothing.

While I stood there, conflicted, I heard a small voice inside of me. Whether it was imagined or not, it was important either way, for its single line made my eyes open wide in realization.

" _Remember who you are, and choose what_ you _would do."_

I stood up straight, my mind set. I had made my decision, and whether or not I would regret it, I did not know yet. But, I had made my decision, so I opened my wings and jumped off the tower, turning my wings so I was aimed towards the castle's entrance.

My wings proceeded to carry me to the front entrance of the castle, where I could see a colorful group of dragons waiting in front of. I could feel their gazes on me as I landed in front of me, and when I looked up at them, I could see looks of concern, confusion, and curiosity. Before anyone else could speak up, I proceeded to say, "Not here. I'll explain while we fly. Follow me."

I opened my wings, taking myself into the sky once more. After a moment, with the others looking mildly uncertain for a moment, they joined me in the sky as well. We began flying Southwest, headed towards the large mountain range in the distance.

Singularity was the first to catch up to me, but neither of us said anything. I waited until everyone was all around me, that way they could all hear me. Once they were all around me, I called towards Pryope and Frostbite, getting their attention. Once they angled themselves towards me, I started speaking. "Now, before I explain where we're going, I should first fully explain to you two everything, that way it makes sense."

The two nodded at me before I began to explain the situation for what seemed like the hundredth time, going over everything. I told them who Sara and I was, I told them about Storm and Tornado, and I told them Asteroid's prophecy. Going over every detail up until now, I made sure the two were fully informed.

Pryope took it better than Frostbite, but that wasn't saying much. At first, both looked at me as if I was insane, and even by the time I was done, neither looked fully certain whether to believe me. Seeing their expressions, I sighed before speaking up. "I know it sounds hard to believe, but the others have seen what Tornado has done," I said, remembering the assassin's skeleton. "I don't expect you to believe me, but I still need your help."

Both were silent for a second, still unsure, but then Pryope spoke up. "As you said, it sounds far fetched. But after everything you've done, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Besides, if I left, that would mean I'd be dooming Pyrrhia, and I could never do that to Queen Ruby."

Frostbite snorted. "I'll stay for now as well. But the second that something seems off, I will leave. Especially since you haven't even explained why we're going to Jade mountain." he said, looking suspicious of me now, as if he wasn't fully sure he should trust me now.

Everyone looked at me now, all of them curious as to why we were suddenly traveling again when about an hour ago we had been searching for information on the Sky Tower. "Because I know how to get to the Sky Tower, and Jade mountain has an entrance." I explained.

This peaked everyone's interest, but Rivlet beat his wings harder, and flew up beside me with a curious expression on his face. "How do you know this? We hadn't found any scrolls on its location yet." He said. "And I thought the tower was in the sky? How would we reach it by going inside a mountain?"

"Animus magic is the best way to explain your questions." I said, which got everyone's attention once more. "I found a glittering golden scroll, and not only could I read it, but it also contained information about the whole tower. When I looked at the entrance I discovered there is a secondary entrance in the mountain that can be reached in case the tower is unreachable."

"Where is this scroll now?" Sahara asked. "And why haven't you shown it to us? That would have made explaining things so much easier instead of how mysterious you've been acting since you left the library."

"Because Tornado appeared and destroyed it." I explained grimly. "She used her magic to temporarily stop time around me and her, in which she pinned me down and destroyed the scroll before my eyes. There wasn't anything I could have done, for she could have killed me with the slightest movement of her claws if she wanted to."

"So why didn't she kill you?" Frostbite asked, which resulted in everyone giving him looks of shock or anger. "I don't mean it like that. I mean, if she's so powerful, and she thinks you're a threat, why hasn't she just killed you or any of the rest of us yet?"

"I don't think she can yet." I said. "I think that whatever is left of Storm is preventing her from attacking us, though according to her, the second we enter the tower, things will change." I explained, which made the others think for a second before nodding in agreement, though several looked uncertain about the aspect of entering the tower now.

"There is one other thing she said to me though." I said after a moment, deciding to give them all the full details of Tornado's proposition. I told them about her offer, and, much to everyone's shock, how I was actually considering it.

"But...how could you just think of betraying everyone like that?" Pryope asked. "Sure, not everyone is the best dragon, but there are still hundreds of dragons that worth saving here. How could you just think of letting them die like that?"

"I understand." Asteroid said, finally speaking up after some time. "He hasn't been here for more than a year, and this isn't technically his home. From what he's seen, there is a lot of violence here, and he is still getting used to it. He's also not used to making decisions as large as this; in fact, nobody should have to make a decision like that, because he either saves the few, or he might lead his friends to their death and it would have been in vain."

"A bee knows nothing of war, so when it comes to deciding whether it should save its fellow scouts or its hive, it becomes conflicted." Tempest said. I turned and smiled at her, and Pryope finally nodded in understanding.

"So where in Jade mountain are we going to?" Sara asked, looking at me curiously. "Did the map at least have a location of which we can head towards?"

I shook my head, much to everyone's disappointment. "Unfortunately, no. If it did, I wasn't able to find out before the scroll was destroyed. We'll just have to search for it, and who knows, maybe the dragonets have already found it. But if they have, I hope they haven't been able to open it yet…"

From what I said, several of them turned and looked at me in surprise. "The dragonets? As in the dragonets of destiny? What are they doing at Jade mountain?" Rivlet asked, looking interested.

I blinked, not realizing that nobody knew of the dragonet's plan yet (aside from the tribe's queens, I assumed). "They're making a school there for all tribes in hope to bring all the dragons of Pyrrhia together, in hope to prevent future wars. I like the idea, and even helped them a bit initially."

"Oh, I heard about that!" Pryope said excitedly. "It's an interesting idea, but many dragons aren't sure about it, seeing as how not even a year ago several of them had been fighting each other to the death. I would go if I could, but I'm afraid I'm too busy helping my queen."

I smiled at this, though Frostbite scoffed like he typically did when he didn't fully agree with something. "And how fast would it be until the school fell apart with one student attacking another? What if a dragon dies and there is no clear blame aside from several dragons from other tribes? Won't it just lead to more wars?"

"That's why they're making the school." Singularity explained. "So that all the tribes can learn about one another and not want to fight one another anymore. Besides, with the dragonets being there, I doubt anyone will try to fight each other, or at least they'll be stopped before anything too bad can occur."

Frostbite scoffed once more, looking away, still not apparently liking the idea. I was about to ask if something was wrong, but Pryope beat me to it, but in the wrong way. "Just what is your problem? Do you have something against peace? Or do you have something against the dragonets, who, if you remember, ended a twenty year long war?"

Frostbite glared back at her and spoke up as I began edging my way towards the two. "I have no problem with peace. What my problem is the fact that those dragonets foolish enough to believe that if they bring everyone together, they can just make them stop hating each other. That's not how dragons work, and I can guarantee that the second one dragon steps on another's tail, or a Sandwing's tail barb accidentally stings another student, there will be fighting again, which will just lead to another war!"

It looked like he was going to continue, but Pryope acted out once more, doing something I had never seen a dragon do. She flew in front of him, looked him in the eyes, and _slapped_ him. While everyone stopped flying and instead hovered in place in shock, especially Frostbite, Pryope spoke. "That _won't happen_. The dragonets won't allow it. They ended the war, and we owe them at least the benefit of the doubt. If they can do it, then that means there will never be war again! How can you not want that?!"

Frostbite growled at Pryope, and I was ready to intervene, but thankfully he spoke instead of lashing back...physically, at least. "There will always be war. They might succeed, sure, but how long until something happens outside of the school? How long until some dispute they aren't even connected to leads to another war? What you don't realize is that they were part of _one prophecy_. There are no other prophecies for them, and what you need to realize is that, in the end, they're just simple dragons, just like you and I. The only thing special about them is the fact that they followed a couple of words spoken by a Nightwing."

"You're wrong."

Several gazes turned to Sara, who hadn't spoken this whole trip. "I only met the dragonets soon after making several decisions I now regret. But they hate me for my actions? Did they turn me away when I was desperate yet they were busy? Did they turn me away because they had their own problems to deal with? These are all actions that other dragons would have done in their place at this time, but no, they didn't. Those dragonets aren't like any other dragon I've met since I've been here, and if anyone can create peace even after they're no longer needed, it's them."

I nodded, and the others, rather impressed with what she had said, nodded as well. Frostbite, however, scowled and turned his head away from the rest of us. "It doesn't matter anyway. We have a job to do, so let's just get to Jade mountain and find this entrance, alright?" He didn't give the others a chance to answer, immediately turning midair and flying once more.

Sighing, I pointed the others to follow. Several nodded, moving once more, but as we moved again, I was given concerned looks from Pryope and Asteroid. Pryope, due to how she wasn't certain about Frostbite, and Asteroid, who had probably seen or heard something inside Frostbite during that. "I'll talk to him." I said, before flying ahead and towards our glittering white and blue dragon.

Flying next to him, I could see his gaze was held strongly forward, only focusing on what was in front of him. Looking around, I made sure the others were far enough back to not hear our next conversation before I began speaking. "Frostbite," I said, getting his attention, though I only noticed because his eye turned towards me before moving back forward.

"Look, if we're going to defeat Tornado, we can't have anyone fighting each other. She'll use that against us, and I need everyone to trust one another. So I need to know now: what is wrong? Why do you seperate yourself from everyone else? Why do you act negatively towards everything to keep everyone else away?"

My assumption was correct, due to how Frostbite's wings stopped for a second, but he quickly recovered before turning his head towards me with a glare. "I don't have to explain myself to you. Just because you lead this fight doesn't mean I have to be as friendly as everyone else. I will work with the others, and I will fight to the death with them, but I don't have to like them, and they don't have to like me, so leave. It. Alone."

We stared at each other for a minute after he finished, with him staring at me definitely while I searched his face for any answers. "Who was it that died in the war Frostbite?" I asked, in which Frostbite's eyes widened as I continued. "Whether it be a friend or family, you have to accept the fact that they are dead now, and cutting yourself from others won't prevent the pain of losing another again. It just makes things worse as you begin to realize how alone you truly are."

Frostbite looked down, not saying anything at first. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he felt conflicted, and that I had told him something he himself feared. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I just need you to realize that these dragons, myself included, are all counting on you just as much as they count on each other."

"His name was Fjord." Frostbite said, still not looking at me. My eyes widened greatly, remembering that name, for he was the prisoner next to me in Scarlet's prison. The same Fjord killed by Clay (well, technically Glory). "He was the only friend I ever had, though that term would be pushing it. He did teach me everything I needed to know about how to fight and survive during the war, and I looked up to him for that. I would like to think we were friends, but that didn't matter when the news came in that he had been taken captive by Scarlet."

Frostbite was looking up again, but now he was practically growling and clenching his fists as he continued. "All of you believe that if you bring everyone together, you can prevent another war. But dragons aren't like that. There will always be the dragons that only live for themselves, dragons that will hurt or kill those that they don't agree with ...or those that they believe are nothing but a disappointment."

I stared at Frostbite in disbelief, not just for the fact that he was opening up to me, even if it was a bit more aggressive than the others had been, but what he was admitting. "You and your sister are lucky, sticking together and looking out for one another. You don't know the pain made when the same dragons you're related to hurt you just because you don't meet the expectations that you strive to meet."

Neither of us said anything a moment after that, both of us lost in thought, with Frostbite's thoughts being those of painful memories, while mine where thoughts of what to say next. "You're right." I said, much to his surprise. "There are dragons like that. But it is their mistake to treat others like that, for they will never be truly happy. Frostbite, what you don't realize is that everyone here has felt pain as well, in some form or another, let it be physical, mental or emotional. You can keep trying to be a lone wolf, but if you don't work with the others and refuse to have any friends at all, what will eventually make you different from those other dragons?" I asked.

Frostbite stayed silent, and I began to think I had gone with the wrong approach and upset him again, but after a minute Frostbite sighed and nodded lightly. "I'll...consider it, at least." He said, still not looking at me.

"That is all I can honestly ask for." I replied. "I'm going to go back to the others. You can stay in front for a bit if you need more time to think." Frostbite nodded, and so I slowly made my way back to fly with the others. They asked me how things had gone, and I replied with, "As best as they could have." The others weren't sure what that meant, but decided to just keep flying and leave it be.

Some time later, we began speaking to each other once more like we had during our previous trips, which mainly involved small talk, the occasional joke, and everyone left wondering whether what Tempest had just said was actually something deep, or if she just wanted a fish. After we had been talking for a bit, Frostbite slowly made his way back, but nobody pointed it out. He mainly kept to himself, but did occasionally give his thoughts to what we were talking about.

After we had flown for a bit, I noticed that the others were beginning to tire. We had been traveling for several hours, and many of us had been kept up late the night before due to the incident in the Skywing Kingdom. After yelling out to the others, we began looking around, and we eventually came across a small clearing next to a even smaller body of water that could barely be considered a pond.

Once we all landed in the clearing, we made ourselves comfortable in several different places. Some of us went to go hunting, with Tempest diving into the pond for fish while Asteroid wandered into the forest in search of some form of critter to hunt. Meanwhile, Singularity made herself comfortable across a large rock as she spread out her wings, with Rivlet rolling about in the nearby mud.

After everyone had eaten, the others agreed to get some sleep and rest for a bit. I volunteered to take first watch, and even though some of the others weren't convinced we needed a watcher, the pros outweighed the cons, and so I stayed up while the others began to sleep.

I had taken my time during my watch shift in my thoughts, going over everything I knew and every resource we had available. I wanted to be as ready for the upcoming excursion into the Sky Tower, but even then I knew there was nothing that we could take with us that would prepare us for whatever Tornado had inside.

And then there was Tornado herself. I began to wonder if it would even be possible to stop her at this point, with how powerful she would be when we reached her. But I was confident that Storm had planned something, and so I prayed that we would find the solution when we got there.

My thoughts were interrupted by Pryope, who was stirring awake. I blinked my eyes, which had been staring up at the sky for a while, meanwhile Pryope began stretching as she got up. It was good it was her that decided to wake up, since she was the next to be on watch, and it was almost time for her turn.

"Hey," I said, getting Pryope's attention, in which she looked towards me. "Glad to see you got up yourself. I'm still not all that used to waking others up, since I'm always afraid they'll try to bite one of my claws off if I try." I said, chuckling.

Pryope nodded, still looking tired as she was still fully waking up. She turned her head, staring at Frostbite for a second, before looking at me curiously. "How did you do it?" She asked, and at my questioning look, she continued. "One moment he's yelling at us, and then you go and talk with him. After that, he joins the rest of us like that never happened and even laughed at one of Singularity's jokes. How did you change him so much in such a short time?"

"I didn't change him at all," I said, shaking my head. "I just offered him some advice is all. We talked to each other for a bit, going over thoughts and experiences." I said. Pryope didn't look convinced, so I sighed as I continued. "Look, Pryope, he's had a troubling past, maybe even worse than some of us. His thoughts were at least justified, if not fully accurate. I don't know how you two treated each other back when he was in a cell, but I'm saying now that you two should try to get along."

Beginning to sit down and prepare to rest, Pryope walked over to me and sat down a bit in front of me. "If he's willing to give us a chance then, and if he'll allow me to start over with him, then I'll give him a chance. But he has to try to cooperate as well."

"I'm sure he will now, now that he's had some time to think about some things. Trust me, as long as you don't go about slapping him again, you'll be fine." Reminding her of what she had done made her look away shamefully. "Why did you do that anyway? I can understand being upset at his words, but slapping someone you should at least work with and at best befriend isn't the best choice of action. If anything, it will just cause the two of you to hate each other."

Pryope was silent, looking ashamed for a moment before speaking. "I don't usually act that rashfully, but what he said upset me greatly. You're correct that I've had a troubled past as well. I had been fighting to dethrone Scarlet for years during the war, knowing that we couldn't win the war with a queen that killed anyone that she didn't like. Scarlet didn't like resistances, however, and there were several times I was certain I was going to die, meanwhile I watched several dragons I considered friends die in front of me."

Pryope then looked towards the sky as she continued. "But then everything changed when the dragonets arrived in Scarlet's arena, with you right beside them." She said, looking down at me with a small smile. "The news of Scarlet's disappearance spread quickly, and we reacted as fast as we could. Not even two days had passed until we had queen Ruby in power, and we finally had a queen that could properly lead us."

Pryope closed her eyes and sighed. "However, none of it would have been possible if the dragonets of destiny hadn't been there, and so I not only have them to thank for the war ending, but also for the fact that Ruby is our queen at all. So when Frostbite began talking negatively of them...I overreacted."

"It's fine to express your emotions Pryope, you just need to remember when and how to properly express them." I said. "Thankfully, it seems that Frostbite's and your relationship can still be fixed. At the very least, apologize for slapping him, and at most explain to him your reasoning. Either way, as long as you apologize and you both give each other a chance, you'll both be fine."

Pryope smiled at that. "That would be nice. I don't have that many friends, since I'm always suspicious of a dragon's true intentions...but it would at least be nice to have a few more dragons to talk to." Pryope was silent for a second, and I began to close my eyes to sleep as she spoke once more. "How do you have so much experience when you yourself are so young?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I don't have experience. I just try to think sensibly is all." Pryope chuckled a bit at that, though it was true. I think I heard her mutter something like _"Thinking sensibly...he really isn't a dragon."_ , but I couldn't be sure as I drifted off to sleep.

Waking several hours later, with the early day sun greeting me, I stretched and prepared to leave, hoping we could be gone before noon. Everyone else was already up, and so we managed to leave the clearing behind about an hour before, once more making our way to Jade mountain.

Our group flew for about two to three more days, and thankfully everyone was getting along just fine. Sure, Frostbite couldn't be considered a friend yet, but Pryope was starting to get there, and the two were even talking to each other on occasion. Everyone was growing closer, which I hoped would help us as we neared our destination.

Finally, as night neared, a large shaped loomed in the distance, and I called it out to everyone. We began flying faster, determined to reach the mountain before nightfall. We had reached Jade mountain. What happened next determined the fate of Pyrrhia.

 **Author's note: So...another chapter. We're nearing the end, and I know some of you aren't overly excited for this story to end. However, every story has to end at sometime, and after almost a year, it's almost this story's time to end. I would like to thank you all for the support you've given me and this story so far, and don't leave yet, because I at least plan to give this a story an awesome ending and a satisfying epilogue. I will also be taking questions of any type to answer at the very end, whether they be questions as to writing, about the story, or just general questions, so type them up in the reviews and I'll be sure to try to answer them at the very end of the story. Also, shoutout to JustRandom119 and his story "Alternate", due to, after asking for permission, will be referencing my story, which I just find awesome to be asked for permission to reference something that I created. Anyhow, be sure to check out their story if you want to (I definitely find it a bit interesting and especially different from other stories I've read), and once more, thank you all for your support with this story. Next chapter should be up next week, as usual.**


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

As the sun began to set over the western side of the mountains, we finally reached our destination: Jade Mountain. On the outside, nothing seemed to have changed, but I knew the inside must be much different since I was last here, as the dragonets have had a long time to work on the creation of their school.

I was currently experiencing mixed feelings about being reunited with my friends after so long. Sure, it would be great to see them again, but we weren't meeting under the best of circumstances after all. There was also the chance that this would be the last time I would see them, if things didn't go well and we fail.

Flying up to the top of the mountain which looked like an open mouth, I had the others follow me to the easiest entrance I remembered into the mountain. Our wings beat with wary last pushes as we had been flying for several hours, and as we landed on the noticeably smoothed out stone floor, I heard several sighs of relief from behind me as the others were finally able to rest their wings. However, the sighs of relief wasn't the only sound I heard after we landed, for I also heard a gasp of surprise from nearby.

Turning my head towards the gasp, I barely had time to react as I was suddenly wrapped in a tight hug by two arms covered with bright gold scales. "Static, you're back!" Sunny exclaimed as she looked up at me with a large smile on her face. "We've been so worried since it's been months and we haven't heard from you! What have you been doing this whole time?" She asked.

I winced mildly, since I felt bad about not even sending one letter telling my friends that I've been fine and what I've been doing. "Oh, this and that." I said, waving a claw around nonchalantly. "I've been working on that whole journey thing I told you and the others about before I left, found out that much more is actually at stake, been forced to fight for my life several times, and made some more friends." I said, waving a wing to the others, who Sunny was just now noticing. "So you know, the usual."

Sunny finally let go of the hug, but she looked up at me with concern. "What do you mean "much more is at stake"? Are others in danger? Are _we_ in danger? Are _you_ in danger?" Sunny asked, the last one sounding much more concerned. "And why did you have to fight again? I thought everyone was supposed to be at peace now?"

I sighed, not liking it whenever Sunny worried, so I decided to try and calm Sunny down with a reassuring smile. "Look, Sunny, everything is...relatively fine, at least for the moment. You shouldn't have to worry, since nothing is happening at the moment." My smile disappeared, replaced by a serious expression as I continued. "So where are the others? There's...a lot we need to discuss."

Thankfully having calmed down slightly and understanding that it was time to get serious, Sunny calmed down and pointed behind her towards a cave. "They're in our sleeping quarters right now, though I don't think any of them are actually asleep yet. If you want, I can show your friends to some other rooms so they can rest while we talk." She suggested.

Looking back at the others, even though they tried to hide it, I could tell that several of them were exhausted from our days of flight. Looking back at Sunny, I smiled and nodded. "That would be great. We just arrived from the Skywing kingdom, so the rest will be appreciated."

Sunny nodded, and so she turned around and began walking towards the tunnel. Looking back at the others, I waved a wing at them, in which they began to follow as well. As we entered the mountain, I could see that a lot of work had already gone into it, even from this seperate tunnel. The floor had been smoothed, the tunnel expanded, and there were globes with candles in them that supplied light throughout the tunnel. Honestly, for first impressions, I was already impressed.

We continued to walk through more of the mountain soon-to-be school, and as we walked, we discussed with Sunny simple small talk, such as what had already been done at the school, how long our group had been traveling, plans for the student groups in the school, introductions of the others to Sunny. It was nice simple small talk, and I honestly wished i could have more conversations like this instead of the talks of fights and life or death situations that I growing used to.

Eventually we reached another tunnel after passing through the impressive entrance to Jade Mountain Academy, in which Sunny showed us several rooms. "These are going to be the rooms our students will use while they're here, but you can use them for the time being. Just take whatever type of bed you want, and I hope to talk to you all again tomorrow." Sunny said, pointing out another great idea, which was multiple types of beds so the students could sleep in what they wanted to.

Waving to the others, I said goodbye as I followed Sunny to the dragonets' chambers, with my final goodbye being to Singularity who was sighing in comfort as she fell into a hammock like what they had in the Rainforest. Following Sunny, neither of us spoke as we made our way through the tunnels, neither knowing what to say.

I decided to break the silence however with more small talk, and I think Sunny was grateful for it as much as I was. We talked more about the school, and how they were planning to start in around a month, and how invitations to all of the tribes had just been sent out. I mildly panicked at this, but knew that a month was hopefully enough time to find and stop Tornado.

We finally reached the dragonets' chambers, in which I was automatically greeted to the familiar yelling of Tsunami. "How am I supposed to rest right now?! We have less than a month to make sure everything is ready! We should be making sure everything is perfect, since if they aren't the students will blame us for anything that isn't perfect, and I'll especially get the blame since I'm the headmaster! Starflight, where did you put that supply scroll for me!?"

I couldn't stop from grinning at the spectacle of Tsunami being in a mild panic, in which I decided to just stand in the entrance of the cave and just watch and see what would happen. Tsunami continued to stomp around in a frenzied panic, throwing aside several scrolls that were on a wooden desk. She finally looked up at Sunny and I, mainly because Sunny was beginning to giggle at the sight.

At first, Tsunami completely ignored the fact that I was there, and looked back towards the scrolls. "Ah Static, Sunny, if you two could stop standing around and help out, I could really..." Tsunami trailed off, her mind finally reaching a realization. She slowly looked back up at us and stared at us, though more specifically me. I couldn't be sure if she was trying to determine if I was actually there, or what she was going to do because I was here, but either way the look she was giving me was concerning.

"Static! You're back!" Tsunami yelled out as she bolted up and over to me. As we embraced in a friendly hug, she looked at me sternly. "What have you been up to for so long that you couldn't send even _one_ letter to us?! We were starting to get worried!" Tsunami yelled as she let go of the hug.

I was about to reply to her, but was interrupted as Clay's head snuck around the corner. His eyes locked onto me and a massive grin filled his face as he made his way to us as well. "Static, it's so good to see you again! Oh, unless you want us to address you as Jack, that is." Clay said, remembering my actual name.

Giving a quick hug to Clay as well, I looked at the others and smiled. "I don't take it Starflight is here as well? I have a lot to talk about, and I figure all of you should hear it at once instead of me having to explain what's been going on multiple times."

"I'm on my way, don't worry." I heard a familiar voice call out. Looking towards a separate tunnel showed Starflight walking out carefully, though he looked a bit more certain as to where he was going with only the occasional feel of the wall to make sure he was going the right way. "Static, it's good to hear from you again. How have your travels been?" Starflight asked, joining the others.

Standing there, I couldn't help but smile at the group in front of me. It had been so long since I had seen them that I hadn't realized just how much I had actually missed them, even though it made sense when I really thought about it, with everything we had all been through. The only one who was missing was Glory, but I decided that that was fine, since she was busy in the rainforest and all…

"What, do I not get a "it's good to see you again" hug as well?" A voice beside me suddenly asked. Appearing out of thin air was Glory, who was giving me a small smile. "It's good to know that you've been keeping my subjects safe Static, and before you ask, I'm visiting to ensure that the school will be good for my subjects, along with giving the others a list that Deathbringer and I had made of possible students. Seeing as how you're here, I couldn't have chosen a better time to do this."

Smiling at Glory, I gave her the hug she had asked for before stepping back and taking in the fact that I was with the rest of my friends once more. However, with the joy of seeing them all again came the sadness of knowing that this might be the last time I could see them, but I shook that thought aside and decided to just focus on the present.

"So, now that everyone's here and you've hugged all of us like Clay does occasionally, can you explain to us what you've been up to? Why haven't you sent at least _one_ letter?" Tsunami asked.

I cringed at that, once more realizing I should have kept up to date with my friends. "I'll be honest: I've been so busy that it slipped my mind to send you letters. A lot has happened in the last few months, and I've had to put complete focus into my mission. That's actually part of why I came here, but seeing all of you again is definitely a bonus as well." I said.

Glory looked at me curiously. "Ah yes, your journey to help the ancient animus. How has that been going? And what part of it has kept you so busy aside from getting all those dragons you arrived with to join you?" She asked.

Sighing, I sat down and advised the others to do the same, telling them that it was a long story. I started with telling them about the prophecy that was given, though this caused a few problems, such as Tsunami yelling out against prophecies and Glory asking me how I had a prophecy if Nightwings didn't have powers. I said that that wasn't important, as Asteroid's powers were hers to keep secret, but I think Glory figured it out anyway if the look on her face was anything to say.

Anyhow, after convincing them that the prophecy was true (which made some of them look concerned), I proceeded to tell them about Tornado. I told them about everything I knew of her, and all the times I ran into her.

This resulted in Starflight panicking about being able to stop such a powerful dragon, Clay asking how we could stop her, Tsunami asking where she was so she could attack her herself, Glory wondering how to keep her tribe safe, and Sunny wondering if they should postpone the school due to this.

I told them all to hold their concern for a moment and to allow me to continue, which they thankfully did. I then explained to them about how it could only be me and the others who could go in, and especially not the dragonets. This caused some more uproar, such as how it shouldn't have to be me to do this and how they could get the queens to send their best fighters instead, but I shook my head, saying that it had to be me and my friends.

After that, I managed to have them stay silent as I explained to them everything else that had happened to me over the course of the last few months. I told them about all of my other friends, how we had met, and the perils we faced along the way. The others were shocked by what had happened to Tempest, unsure about Frostbite, and Starflight looked like he wanted to have a studious conversation with Rivlet, but once more I continued.

Overall, in the end I told them everything that had happened. Honestly, if everything that I told them was written down, it would probably be a several thousand word story at that point, and I was beginning to wonder just how much longer this story would be. I finally finished telling them everything, finishing up with my final conversations with Pryope and Frostbite.

The others were silent for a moment, many lost in their own thoughts concerning my journey. I didn't blame them either, for I was lost in my own thoughts as well. I essentially just told them that unless me and the others went into the tower and somehow managed to stop Tornado, all of Pyrrhia would soon fall. It was a lot to take in, so much in so that I was still uncertain about going into the tower when we did find the entrance.

After some time, it was Glory who decided to speak up and break the deafening silence that surrounded our group. "So...if you do succeed, what are you going to do?" She asked. I was mildly surprised by the question, but thinking about it, it was definitely a question on everyone's mind that didn't involve a devastating topic such as the end of everything.

I stood there for a second, still being uncertain in my decision. "Well, once we do defeat Tornado, Storm had promised a way back to my world for Sara and I." I explained, meanwhile I got up and walked towards the entrance of the cave, with the others looking at me curiously as I did so.

Peaking my head around the corner quickly, I looked around, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary. Before I continued, I wanted to make sure that nobody was listening in to me, especially not Sara. Not seeing anyone out there, I turned back to the dragonets and answered.

"I'll be staying here, but only after I ensure that Sara makes it home safely."

A few of them looked happy about this answer, with them being glad that I was going to stay here with them. However, Sunny and Glory didn't look overly convinced. "Static...Jack, are you sure that's a good idea?" Sunny asked. "Sara is your sister. Can you really say goodbye to her forever?" She asked.

I flinched, due to how Sunny had voiced one of the many problems I always had when thinking about this. I sighed however, before nodding, my mind made up once and for all. "It's for the best. Ever since I've arrived here, I've had more friends and great memories than I ever had back home, even if I have to fight for my life more often. Sara however...she's become more distant. She always seems on edge, as if she's waiting for some dragon to do the wrong thing so she can fight them. I love my sister too much to allow her to stay like this, and our parents are probably in blind panic now that we've both been missing for so long. They should at least have one of their children back…"

The others looked saddened by this, and Sunny spoke up again. "Jack...you've only ever mentioned your parents a few times before but...shouldn't you go back to them as well? As you said, they've probably been worried sick since you left. Shouldn't you go back and join them with your sister?"

My lungs seemed to freeze up, and I knew Sunny was right, but at the same time…"I can't." I said, looking down. "My parents have never been around that much for my sister and I, but they always did care for us. But after I defended my sister that one day….we grew slightly distant. I love them, and they love me as well, but we were never fully close. If I could explain to them why I stayed here, I would, but for now, all I know is that I can only send Sara back, and that is all."

"You could always write them a letter." Clay suggested. We all looked towards him in surprise, and I smiled at him as we did. It was a great idea, one that was simple and yet I still hadn't thought about it.

"That's a great idea Clay. That way I can at least tell them I'm fine and that they shouldn't worry about me. Of course, I can't exactly explain everything that's happened to me to them, since they would probably think it was either a joke or that I had gone insane. Either way, I'll be sure to do just that, so thanks Clay."

Clay beamed at me for the praise, though Glory still looked unconvinced of something. "Jack...just why are you staying here though?" She asked. "Sure, you said that you've had better times here and have more friends than you had back home, but what about your family? What about your old life? If you have so much waiting for you back home, what is making you want to stay here so much?"

I sighed, knowing this might come up. I was starting to get annoyed with all the questioning towards my motives in staying here, but I knew they just wanted to ensure my happiness and that I was absolutely certain about my decision. "Well, aside from you guys and my other friends, there is another reason I've chosen to stay.." I said, looking away and feeling my face slightly heat up.

Glory instantly seemed to know what was up, and a devious look appeared on her face as she leaned forward towards me. "Oh? Do tell...This wouldn't have to do with a certain exciteful subject of mine, now would it?" She asked.

I could feel my face heat up a bit more as I nodded slightly. This caused many mixed reactions among the dragonets. Tsunami burst out in laughter at me, while Starflight looked confused since he couldn't see my face. Glory smiled and nodded, having been right in her assumption, while Clay looked confused as to what we were talking about. Sunny however was wearing a sad looking smile, which was understandable due to our past conversations.

"Yes...when this is all done, Singularity and I have decided to give being in a relationship a try." I admitted. We had discussed it with each other after that night under the stars we spent together after meeting Rivlet, and decided that even if we did like each other, we still had to focus on the task at hand. Still, to think that it was about a month ago that we admitted feelings for one another...time sure does fly by when you're not paying attention.

Glory nodded and smiled at this. "Then I wish for the best for you two. And it also gives you something to strive for when you do end up going into that tower, so hopefully the extra motivation will aid you through whatever perils you face inside."

I sighed at this. "That's just the thing though. Of all the dragons that we need to open the gate, there are two I wish to keep out of that tower if I could. Those two are Singularity and Sara, of course, but I know I can't leave them behind. But still, to know that they'll be in danger soon…" I trailed off, looking sadly at the floor.

"You shouldn't think about it like that." Starflight said, speaking up. "No matter what Tornado has planned for you and the others, as long as you all stick together and truly trust one another, there is no way she can actually separate and stop you. I'm sure that as long as you all stick together, you'll all be fine." He said, giving me what he probably thought was a reassuring smile, but looked more nervous instead.

I smiled at the advice anyway, knowing I needed to try and focus on the positives. "Yes, well, that does of course lead us to the next issue we should discuss." I said, my voice taking on a more somber and serious tone. "What should be done if we fail."

Everyone went silent as faces of remorse and sadness filled the room, the gloom being radiated so strongly that if someone else were to walk in right now, they would be sad as well without even knowing why. It was obvious why though, as I had just implied not only my death, but also the possible end of Pyrrhia.

I continued, knowing the others weren't sure what to say as well. "If we don't come out of that tower in a month, I want you to expect the worse. If that does happen, try to evacuate all of Pyrrhia if you can. I don't know where, and I know it would take a lot of explaining to the Queens, but if we do fail, Pyrrhia will become Tornado's personal playground, and even if other animus magic was used against her, I'm not sure you'd be able to stop her with how strong she's presumably getting. So if we fail, leave, and don't stop flying until you know she won't find you."

The others wanted to speak up, I could see that, but nobody had any words for what I had to say. It was clear that this was the best solution if we were to fail, and there was no arguing against it. However, I still had some more to say on the matter.

Opening up my wings, I quickly swung them around the dragonets, my large wingspan just barely fitting around all of them in a form of group hug. "But I will say this though: No matter what happens, you all are some of the best friends I've ever had, and I'm glad I could meet all of you. I will fight with every last muscle in me if it means I can keep you safe. I'm the Protector, after all, and I'm not about to fail you. You're all my friends, after all."

The others were silent for a moment, before which they opened their wings up as well and surrounded me, covering me in a large group hug again. I felt...complete, would be a good world for it, having them all with me as they tried to help and inspire me during this tough time.

Finally, after what felt like several hours of silence and us just standing there, they let go of me, and as they stood in front of me, I could see that they were all smiling as well. "You're not just a friend anymore Static. You're almost family at this point, after everything we've been through together and everything you've sacrificed for us. So don't make us have to mourn the death of a hero, and instead come back with another story to tell, alright?" Glory said.

Tsunami spoke up next. "Yeah, it wouldn't be that great if we had to say goodbye on such a sad note, so be sure to come back and say hi to us again, alright? Besides, you still have yet to see me be the best and first headmaster Pyrrhia has ever seen!"

"You've done so much to protect us whenever we've been in danger, and you don't even consider your own safety while you do so. Jack, you're one of the craziest dragons I've ever met, but you're also the bravest. Be sure to come back so you can tell me more about your world's organization system with libraries, alright?" Starflight said.

"I've tried so hard to protect to protect the others, but you've done so much more than I ever have. Thank you for protecting them, Jack, but be sure to keep your own safety in mind as well. You don't know what's in that tower, so please do your best to keep everyone and especially yourself safe in there. Maybe when you get back, we can hold a celebration feast!" Clay suggested.

Finally, Sunny walked up to me and looked me in the eyes as she spoke. "Don't you dare die. We've learned so much from you, and after everything you've been through, you deserve to rest after this. None of us can imagine a world without you in it now, so please, don't die."

I smiled softly at Sunny, then at the rest of the dragonets. At that point I was on the verge of tears, but I refused to cry again, not when the world rested on my shoulders. "Thank you all. I promise you that I'll make you proud, and that I'll try...no, I _will_ come back."

We stayed like that for a moment, none of us needing to speak as we once more reached for a group hug, though not only was this one shorter, it was also happier than before. When we let go, I said goodnight to the dragonets, in which we would meet up again the next morning to search for the tower entrance.

I made my way to the sleeping chambers, in which I found the one that Singularity was in. Seeing her in the hammock, I layed down on a bundle of leaves nearby. As I did so, I noticed the sleeping form of Asteroid on a rock ledge, and smiled that the two had become good friends after all this time in our group.

I drifted off to sleep, in which I had the first good dreams I had had in months, and woke up the next day feeling more refreshed than I had in awhile.

When I was fully awake, I greeted the others in the hall outside as they tumbled out of their respective room. We made our way to the cafeteria that Sunny had shown us, where we found the other dragonets as well.

We made small talk for a bit as we ate, with some of our group talking to the dragonets and introducing themselves as they feasted upon the wide variety of food the dragonets had ready for their students.

I smiled at the sight of Rivlet and Starflight speaking, Asteroid and Singularity talking to Glory, and Pryope stumbling over her words as she introduced herself to Sunny. I could see that several of them would become friends, and who knows, maybe when this was all over, they would visit or even attend the dragonets' school. I didn't know what age group the dragonets were aiming for at first, and when asked, they responded it would be for any dragons interested, though aimed for middle aged dragonets, ranging from four to eight year old dragons (twelve to eighteen human years).

As we finished our breakfast and conversations, with several of the others now having mildly befriended each other (in which I could tell the dragonets were impressed with my choices), Starflight produced a scroll for me and rolled it out on a stone table. "This is a map the others have created showing all of the known tunnels in the mountain." He explained. "None of the others have found this entrance you're looking for, but there are several tunnels we deemed too dangerous to enter, one of which may lead to where you need to go."

I nodded, but after a second realized he couldn't see that and thanked him as well. Taking the map, I began to look closely at it and examine all the marked off tunnels. There were several that led further down that were marked off for reasons such as "too small" or "hundreds of bats", but I ignored those, my eyes traveling up the mountain.

As I continued looking up, the tunnels became less frequent, but those that were closed off were closed for more important reasons such as "falling stalactites" and "tunnel unstable". However, there was one tunnel that was different and higher than the rest that peaked my interest, and I pointed it out to the others. "What about this tunnel right here? All it says is "many dangers". What does that mean?" I asked.

Sunny looked worried as she looked over my shoulder and saw the tunnel I was pointing at. "Oh, that's the tunnel we've been meaning to close off by force. There are falling stalactites, bats that jump out at dragons for no reason, and it also gets so dark that when Clay and I when in there initially, I accidentally hurt myself as I walked into a sharp rock that I couldn't see."

I nodded, then placed my claws down onto the table that made a noise that got everybody's attention. "Then that is most likely where we'll find the entrance. Everyone," I said, addressing the others but not the dragonets, "We'll be leaving to explore this tunnel in an hour. Grab your gear and any food you might need, along with water. If the entrance is there, we don't know how long we'll be in the tower, so be ready for anything. I'll meet up with you here," I said, putting a claw on the outside of the tunnel,"Soon. So go get ready everyone."

The others nodded as they ran off to get their stuff ready, and I sighed as soon as they finished leaving. Sunny put her hand on my shoulder, and I smiled at that. We would soon be facing our greatest challenge yet, my friends and I, but at least I knew I had the support of my other friends as well.

Bidding the dragonets farewell, I went to grab my gear. It took me about half an hour to get everything ready and restocked, and I soon found myself standing in front of the tunnel. It seemed more menacing than other tunnels I had seen, which might have been due to the two red colored light globes hanging next to it that read "warning" on them, but I still took that as a sign that this was the right tunnel.

Soon, everyone else was with me, including the dragonets. We bid our farewells, and I gave the dragonets one last hug, all of us embracing each other for what we hoped wouldn't be the last time. Stepping away, I pulled up a makeshift torch and lit it with a concentrated blast of lightning before turning to the dragonets. "We'll see you all soon. I promise." I said, and so I turned to enter the tunnel, the others following close beside and behind me.

I strove through the darkness, determination on my mind. I had friends to protect, family waiting for me...I would not fail now. As I thought this, my ear twitched as I heard a small sound, barely noticeable, but it was enough. I spun around, grabbing the dragon to my left, which was Sara, and pulling her aside right as a thin but long and sharp stalactite fell down and hit where she had been standing.

The others stared at the spot in surprise, before staring back at the ceiling. As we did so, we saw not just several other stalactites, but also several other small pairs of eyes staring back at us. As we did so, several bats swooped down at us. However, before they could reach us, a burst of fire and ice covered the roof above us, removing any bats before they could reach us and successfully freezing the stalactites to the roof. I turned and looked towards Frostbite and Pryope and nodded, smiling at them. Pryope smiled back while Frostbite just nodded, and we kept moving once more.

We faced several other small troubles as we made our way through the tunnel, such as many sharp rocks on the ground forcing us to fly through a cramped tunnel, more stalactites falling, and even at one point some kind of blind creature jumped at us, though they were quickly taken down by Sahara's tail barb.

Finally, as I began contemplating where in the mountain we even were in any more and if this tunnel actually led anywhere, I noticed something strange. Looking closer, I realized I was right, and that there was some kind of light in the distance. I informed the others, though we continued to take our time, not wanting to get hurt when we were finally so close.

Walking forwards some more, we came across an opening in the tunnel that led to a large cave that shouldn't have been physically there, or it would have been noticeable outside the mountain. However, this cave was of course different from most caves, what with its smoothed stone walls, carved out torches that lit the room with some kind of contained lightning, and of course, the door.

Our group stood before the entrance to the Sky Tower, and our quest was reaching its climax. Hopefully we would survive to the end.

 **Author's Note: DUN DUN DUN. So, as we reach the Sky Tower, I should inform that things are going to get** _ **very interesting**_ **now. What horror's does Tornado have awaiting our group of adventurers in her lair? You'll just have to wait and see….unless you're reading this sometime after I've posted the next chapter, in which case you can just keep reading and find out. Anyhow, thank you all so much for reading and supporting my story, it really means a lot to me to know that some many people enjoy reading this. Anyhow, if you have any questions, be sure to ask, and as usual, the next chapter will be up next week.**


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

 **Author's Attention! This is the first part of a few chapters that will be leading to the current finally. However, I address this because things will be getting a bit darker than usual. The story is still rated T, however, since no actual death will be occurring, and if I get called out, let's just remember that this is a story for a series pointed towards Middle Schoolers that had a dragon's teeth being forcibly removed as she died in the second book. Anyhow, with that out of the way, enjoy the story.**

The nine of us stood before the gate that was the entrance to the Sky Tower. The gate loomed over us greatly, with it being the size of a large house. It was large and circular, with the stone around it looking like it had molded around the edges of the gate instead of it being put in by force. The gate was a circular door, though there was no clear way on how to open it. There were seven gems laid out around on the edges of the door, showing the colors green, red, blue, black, yellow, brown and white. Meanwhile, in the center, there was one larger grey, cracked looking gem.

Looking back at the others, I checked to see if everyone was ready to move forward and enter what was to be our greatest challenge yet. Looking at everyone, I could see that they appeared mostly fine, though some of them were still recovering from wounds from our past battles, including Rivlet's sting from the Sandwing assassin. But even with these wounds, everyone stood tall and ready, and I was happy that if I was going into a fight, it would be with them.

Even so, I decided to voice my question directly to ensure that everyone was ready. "We're here. Before we step any further, I need to make sure of one thing: Are you all ready for this?" I asked.

Everyone looked among one another, as if asking each other all the same thing. After checking to make sure they were all good and they all had their supplies, they nodded and Sahara spoke up. "We're all as ready as we'll ever be. If we're going to do this, let's do it now."

I nodded and smiled at everyone before turning back around and walking towards the door in front of me. As the door loomed over me, I began searching it for any indication as to how we would get inside as I heard the others follow closely behind me.

As we stood in front of the door, I noticed another detail about the door now that we were more up close to it than before. Aside from several strange markings and runes covering the door, on the center of each gem was an imprint of a dragon's hand. This occured for all of the gems except the large one in the center, which had two hand imprints on it.

After studying it for a moment, I made the obvious connection as to what we were supposed to do. "Alright, everyone, take a gem that is respective to your tribe's color. Pryope, go to the red one; Singularity, you take green; Tempest, you're blue." I went to point out the rest, in which everyone flew to their respective gems. "Don't put your hand on the imprint yet. Sara," I said, looking at my sister, "You're with me on the center gem. I'll take the left, you take the right, okay?" Sara nodded, in which we flew up to the center gem together.

Once we were hovering in place in front of the humongous gem, which was roughly the size of Sara and I together, I check to ensure that everyone was ready. Looking around, I could see everyone hovering in front of the different gems. "Alright," I called out, getting everybody's attention, "On three, we will all put our hands down on the imprint at the same time, alright?"

As everyone called out affirmatives, I looked towards my sister, in which she smiled confidently and nodded at me. I smiled back at her, confident we would be able to get through this together. Not just me and her, but everybody, because as long as we were all together, nothing could stop us.

"One!" I shouted out, looking towards everybody once more. These were my friends, the dragons I had grown close to in the weeks and months I had gotten to know them. At this point, I felt I could honestly do anything as long as they were by my side, and for the first time since I started this trip, I felt confident that we would succeed.

"Two!". I looked towards Singularity, who had the most serious expression I had seen on her face since I had met her. We had been through so much together, and I wasn't going to let anything happen to her here. I realized that, unlike the others who made me feel more confident, she somehow made me feel better as a person, and at this point, I knew I could go through anything if she was by my side….because i loved her.

"Three!". We all slammed our hands down onto the gems at once, the force behind them being that of a group of friends that was ready to go through anything together if it not only meant the safety of their home and their friends, but each other as well. It was a force to be reckoned with, and now I knew why Tornado was intimidated by us, because she knew that if we were all together, she couldn't defeat us.

Which is exactly why she trapped the door.

For a second, nothing happened, and we stayed at our respective places, confused. However, before anyone could speak up, the gems suddenly opened up, and as soon as they did, everyone was either pulled into or fell inside the gem. I watched in horror as everyone fell through one by one, until I fell into the opened up gem before me as well, but not before noticing that my gem was split in half, with Sara falling down the other side.

After I fell in, I began falling downwards, the walls around me so close that it felt like I was going down a slide. I tried to stop myself from falling, but I couldn't, due to how the walls were extremely smooth and slick, which only aided in my progress downwards. However, I knew that even if I could stop myself, the way I came in was probably blocked off again, so I let myself continue to fall, in which I was completely vulnerable to whatever Tornado had in store for me.

As I fell, I began to think once more. It made since, what the door had done. I had felt so confident with my friends, and more than likely the same had happened with them as well. That's why Tornado separated us, to strip us of our confidence and have us completely vulnerable to whatever she had in store for us.

I tried not to panic as I continued to fall, but after awhile, my thoughts began to wander to darker places. What if I never stopped falling, or the end of this slide was to several spikes that would mean my death? What of the others? Were they still falling? Were they even still alive?

Not knowing what was in store for me, I could only hope that the others were safe as I continued to fall.

 _Meanwhile, from Sara's point of view…._

I tried once more to dig my claws into the walls around me, but to no avail once more. I had been trying to stop myself from falling several times now, but no matter what I tried I couldn't stop. I had no idea where I was going, but I did know that this was Tornado's way of not just separating all of us, but more specifically me from my brother.

Knowing that Jack was probably in danger, I tried once more to stop myself. I grunted with exertion and through the pain of digging my claws into the stone, and after a moment I am forced to stop and continue to fall once more.

Grunting due to the exertion of trying to stop myself again and the pain now trembling through my claws, I looked upwards and took deep breaths. However, when I looked up, I saw what looked to be some kind of light in the distance. As I tried to look closer, I realized that the light was growing as I fell closer towards it, and after a moment, the light surrounded me as I fell into it.

For that moment, I couldn't seem to feel anything. Everything felt...gone, for I couldn't see, hear or feel anything. However, after a second, my feelings returned, and I found myself laying on the ground, surrounded by...nothing.

Quickly standing up, I immediately began looking around my surroundings, but no matter where I looked, everything was...white. The only thing that stood out from where I was was the fog that densely surrounded me.

Taking a step forward in a random direction, I tried calling out to the others, wondering if they were in here with me. "Jack?! Singularity?! Asteroid?!" I yelled out, but the only response I was given was my echo in the distance.

I was beginning to panic, but I knew that Jack would stay calm, and so I took a few deep breaths and tried to think logically. I had been falling for a while, so it was more than likely we were in some kind of large chamber and had been separated. So all I needed to do was choose a direction and start walking in a random direction, and then I would be able to find the others.

Right as I had made my mind, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Quickly turning, I had the slightest glimpse of a shadow fading back into the fog. "Hello? Who's there?!" I yelled out, taking a battle stance. "I'm warning you, if you're not one of my friends, I won't hesitate to hurt you!"

As I finished speaking, I saw another shadow from behind me, and so I turned around once more, this time to see a wing fade away. "I'm warning you, stay back!" I warned, only to have another shadow appear to my left.

My eyes stayed leery, turning left and right quickly to keep up with the shadows and to ensure that they didn't sneak up behind me. However, one shadow in particular got too close, and so I decided that I was under attack. I reacted by swinging my claw upwards and into the direction they were moving, and as I did so, I felt the warmth of flesh and blood cross my talons.

I thought that that would allow me to see my opponents, but as whatever I had hit fell to the ground, the fog covered it up, removing my sight of what it had been. My attack, however, didn't go unnoticed, and the other shadows began picking up speed and continued to spin around me.

" _So let them surround me."_ I thought while preparing myself to attack once more. _"I won't let whatever they are stop me from taking my brother away from me. If I have to kill every single one of whatever they are to get back to the others, I will._ "

And so I continued to pounce on one shadow to the next, and every swipe connected to some part of them that always guaranteed that they fell down to the white, fog covered floor. As I did this, I began counting how many there were, wondering just how many opponents Tornado had sent after me.

When I struck the eighth one down, I stood over the final shadow, panting. My claws were slick in blood, though I tried to ignore that. Hopefully I would be able to scrape it off, and even if Jack asked, I could always pawn it off as self defence. I didn't like the fact that every swipe I landed caused whatever these shadows were to die, but since they were something sent after me by Tornado, I believed it was justified.

Right as I thought that, I felt a strong gust of wind hit me. I covered my face with my wings due to how strong the wind was, but as soon as I was in a good stance and position to stop the wind from hitting me. Putting my wings down, I saw the fog was gone, and instead I was suddenly back inside a cave instead of surrounded by white. Believing I had beaten whatever challenge Tornado had in store for me, I grinned as I looked down to see my combatants, only to freeze in horror as the blood drained from my face.

Surrounding me where eight dead bodies….all of which I recognized. Slowly staring downwards, I saw that underneath me was Sahara, her throat slashed. Looking around, I could see the others all had had the same thing happen to them as they all laid on the ground dead.

"No….no no no NO!" I shouted out, looking around in terror. Asteroid, Frostbite, Singularity, all of them...they were all dead. I looked down at my talons, seeing the red blood (with a hint of blue from Frostbite) staining them, and I began shaking my head as I stepped backwards, tears welling in my eyes.

"No, this can't be real! This is some kind of trick!" I yelled out to nobody, the only one hearing my screams of anguished pain was myself as I tried to convince myself. However, as I took one final step back, my foot hit something behind me. I turned around, wondering what it was, when I froze once more, my heart going still as my brain tried to understand what I was seeing.

Behind me was Jack, my brother, and just like the others, he was dead. As my brain finally acknowledged this, I fell to the ground, my wings slumping behind me as tears began to falls down my face. I reached towards Jack's head and pulled it towards me as I shut my eyes and cried out.

"Please...don't let this be true…." I whimpered, but as I held onto Jack, I knew the truth. Everybody was dead, including my brother, and I had killed them.

 _Singularity's perspective, moments later…_

"Ugh, where am I?" I asked aloud, looking around. I remember opening the door, falling for a bit, then I saw some kind of light, and then...nothing. Looking around didn't answer any questions I had either, because I appeared to be in the Rainforest, which was impossible.

"Static?" I called out as I sat up from where I had been laying down. "Spark? Asteroid? Where are you guys?" I called out while looking around. Was I dreaming. Had the tunnel teleported me back to the rainforest? If so, where did it take the others?

As I began questioning the whereabouts of my friends and began to worry, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Turning around towards it, I saw that is was something shimmering from the distance. My curiosity peaked, and since I had no idea where everyone else was, I decided to walk towards it. For all I knew, whatever was shining might give me a clue to where the others were, especially if it was the animus compass Jack had, which he had informed us of the way it sparkled from afar.

Making my way through several trees, I saw the shimmering object grow closer, and an outline of a figure appeared through the trees. I couldn't see them fully through the trees and the light of the shimmering getting in the way of my eyes, but they looked awfully familiar, with their large wings and crooked horns…

"Static?" I called out again as I continued to walk through the trees. The figure grew as I drew closer, and I could make out the gray color of his scales. "Static!" I called out happily as I jumped through the final trees between me and him, going in for a hug.

However, as I wrapped my wings and claw around him, I felt something strange. His scales were cold and hard, and felt more like...stone. As I looked up at Static, letting go of the hug as I did so, I saw that it was actually a statue in his likeness, with glimmering white gems in place of his eyes.

Confused, I walked around to the front of his statue, where I saw a stone plaque underneath it. "Did Queen Glory put this here while I was gone? I wonder what this says." I mumbled to myself curiously as I looked down to read the plaque. However, as I read, my eyes grew wide and I drew back in terror.

The plaque read as follows: _Rest in Peace, Static the Protector. May he always protect those after death, and punish those that did wrong._ _ **And may Singularity pay for her actions leading to his demise…**_ Most of the script was carved neatly into the stone, but the last part was hacked away wildly, as if done by the claws of an angry dragon.

"No….how did this happen?...How could I be responsible for Static's death?" I muttered to myself, tears forming in my eyes. I slammed my eyes closed and shook my head. "No, this isn't real. This is just a dream. There's no way Jack is dead, and there is no way I would ever be responsible for his death. I love him too much for that…" I muttered, trying to calm myself.

However, as I said this, I heard a rumbling noise from in front of me, along with a deep, rumbly chuckle. Opening my eyes, I stared in shock as the statue of Static came to life in front of me, moving its head to the side and looking at me curiously as it laughed deeply at me.

" **Loved me?"** The statue said in its rumbly voice, and though deeper and sounded like there were rocks in its throat, it still sounded like Jack. " **If you really loved me, you wouldn't have betrayed me and the others, you** _ **coward**_." The statue said as it proceeded to glare at me.

I fell backwards in shock, and as I did so, the statue stepped away from its pedestal and began to circle me from my spot on the ground. "Wh...what do you mean? I would never betray the others! I would never betray _you!_ " I shouted out, tears forming once more.

The statue glared at me again. _"_ **Then why did you sell me and the others out just so you could escape?!"** It yelled at me. " **We were all ready to fight and finally defeat Tornado, but the second you saw her power, you hid away, saying that if she let you go, she could have the others.** " Static snarled at me. " **She easily agreed and opened a tunnel for you to leave through, and with our moral destroyed, and you not there to fight with us, we all** _ **died**_ **as you walked back to the rainforest, content to continue living until Tornado eventually destroyed everything we had fought for."**

As the statue said this, the scenery around me changed in the blink of an eye. The trees around me were all dead and rotten, the sky had turned an orange red color, and the smell of death streaked through the air. " **And yet, here you are, still alive. Mocking me and the others for what we had fought so hard for as you continue to live.** _ **You love me?**_ **HA! I would** _ **never**_ **love a monster like you."**

That was all it took, that single line from the statue, for me to fall apart. Everything else only supported this single line, but it was still enough to enforce the idea that I could not imagine. While he was speaking, I had tried to get up, but now I willingly fell to the ground, my wings falling over my head as tears fell down the sides of my face.

"...please….don't let this be true….don't let any of this be true….just let this be a nightmare….please let me wake up…"I whimpered as I continued to cry. I had taken the one thing I had loved from this world, and now my worst fear had come true.

Static didn't love me….and he had every right not to.

 _In another tunnel, from Tempest's perspective…_

"Weeeeeee!" I shouted as I slid down the tunnel. I had been screaming in excitement for the last few minutes, though now that I think about it, was it really minutes or hours? It didn't really matter, since I was having fun, but then again I still had to get back with the others. So as soon as this tunnel ended, I decided I would go and find my friends. That is, unless I found some more fun along the way, of course.

Finally, after who knows how long, I finally saw light ahead, and was completely surrounded by it. Sure, that was confusing, and I felt disoriented for a moment, but I knew I would be fine, since if Tornado wanted us dead directly, she would have already done so. Sure, I could have told Jack that it was obvious that Storm was still at least slightly fighting back, which was why Tornado couldn't kill us yet, but due to how I couldn't make myself speak normally, I decided that it wasn't too important for the moment and held my mangled and confusing words.

After the light dissipated, I looked around, confused as to where I was. I was somehow back in the ocean, which made no sense, as we were nowhere close to an ocean back in the caves. Of course, I could have been teleported, which would explain the light, but it could just as easily be an illusion.

"Static? Associates?" I asked, but after a second, I smacked my head and rolled my eyes. I was under water still, so my words came out all bubbly and unrecognizable. Pretty silly of me to try speaking underwater, huh readers? "..." Where did that come from? That was a bit random, even for me. I mean, it's not like I'm some character in a story, right?

Shaking my head and trying to get back on task, I decided to swim upwards and see if I could find the others. However, as I began swimming upwards, I saw a glimmer of shining scales to my left, and turning my head, I saw three Seawings speaking aquatic amongst themselves as they swam through the ocean.

Convinced I had actually been teleported after all, I decided to go talk to the three and ask which of the thousand scale islands I was nearest currently, and which way was West so I could start flying back to the others. However, strangely enough, as soon as I got close to them, their eyes widened and they quickly turned around, swimming as fast as their wings could make them. I thought I made out in aquatic _"It's the strange one."_ , but I couldn't be certain.

As confused as I was at their reaction, I decided to get back on task once more and try to find my friends. Swimming to the top of the ocean, I broke through the water and began looking around me, trying to spot the nearest island to land on and try to think about where I was.

However, much to my surprise, I saw on a nearby island several familiar dragons of all shapes and colors. "Acquaintances! Static of the clouds, you're all in this vicinity with me!" I called out flying towards them excitedly. "Did the twisting slide tunnels teleport you to the waters as well?" I asked.

However, as soon as they had heard my voice, all of them jumped, and as I landed, all but one of them flew off as if in a hurry. I looked at Static confusedly, especially with the look on his face. Was that...anger? Or was it disgust? "Is something the matter with the group? Why do they fly away as if trying to avoid me? And is something of the matter? I asked?

Static leered at me. "Go away Tempest. I've told you before and I'll tell you again, we don't want a dragon like you to be with us." He said, and I felt my blood go colder than the water of deepest parts of the ocean.

"What...what do you mean? I thought we were friends?" I asked, my voice beginning to tear up. This didn't make sense, because Static would never treat me like this...maybe my assumption of being teleported was wrong, and maybe I was actually in…

"We're not friends, no matter what those crazed and confused voices in your head might think." Static said. "You've already annoyed all of us enough for us to decide to see what happens if we don't have a Seawing, and if we fail, it will be your fault, since we won't have time to choose a Seawing after this. The others wanted to let you down easy, but since you keep following us, I'm going to be clear: We don't want you, and it would appear we're not the only ones. Leave not just us, but everyone alone." He growled at me.

I turned my head confusedly to the side at Static, tears forming in my eyes. "Why are you saying this? The Static I knew would never treat someone else like this. And...of course dragons care for me. Sealion of the Seawings still cares for me!" I said, the tears beginning to fall.

Static glared at me even harder for my last words. "And yet you still killed him out of the rage created when you were torchered. Don't you even feel guilty about that? About how you kill your race on sight?" Looking behind me, he grimaced before continuing. "Obviously not, by the looks of it.

I turned around, and my eyes went wide once more. The three Seawings I had seen before floated in the water behind me, the ocean water around them turning red as they continued to float, unmoving. I began to feel sick, and I clasped a hand over my mouth as tears continued to fall, but quickly withdrew it as I stared at my claws in shock, for they were now stained red.

Turning back to Static, I wanted to say that this wasn't my fault. I wanted to say that I couldn't control myself, and I needed his help. I wanted to beg him to stay, because he was the one dragon that had always been kind to me, and was the only one willing to give me another chance. But I couldn't speak, because in place of Static was the one dragon I never wanted to see again.

Eel.

"Don't worry, my commander, at least I care for you." He said as he stepped close to me. I wanted to back away, to run and scream for help, but I couldn't move, for Eel's face was exactly as I remembered it: dead and covered in blood.

"Don't worry, commander, we'll have you ready to lead us into glorious combat once more, after the right motivation, of course." He said, and suddenly I was back in that cave where I had been for months, and Eel once more stood over me with the creature he was named after.

All I could do was yell and scream, but nobody came.

 _Meanwhile, in the central part of the Tower…_

"Oh, how unfortunate! How saddening. Torture was definitely not something I was expecting, but aw well, it will definitely get that Seawing out of the picture." Tornado said, walking away from the conjured mirror she had created to see the illusion cast around the Seawing, and instead moved to Sara's mirror.

"And oh, how violent! I might have to turn her into a general, if she survives long enough that is. Of course, I'll have to influence her a little unless the thought of killing her brother truly do break her." Tornado muttered to herself as she then looked towards Singularity's mirror.

"Aw, and the pain of being blamed for the death of a loved one. How saddening, though by the looks of it, necessary. She'll break before too long, and then I'll have my little statue close in for the kill when she's at her weakest."

Turning around, Tornado looked towards the other six mirrors. "Three down, six to go. I must say, it was ingenious of me to make them face their greatest fears and inner demons. They make what will ultimately destroy them, and I'll I have to do is wave my talons a little bit and then enjoy the show! It's perfect! Of course, there is still one problem…" Tornado muttered, turning towards a specific mirror.

" _The Nightwing…_ " Tornado thought as she stared at Asteroid as she continued to fall. She would have to ensure everything was perfect with her illusion, or she might be able to see it was a trick and escape. And if she escaped, she would then be able to free the others potentially, which would be extremely annoying after all the animus magic Tornado had already used on them.

"Aw well. Even if she does escape, I won't allow them to beat me. Her little gifts of mind reading and future sight won't do her any good here in my personal chamber, and I will crush her like a bug if she becomes that much of annoyance. That will teach all of them to foolishly come here after me."

Little to Tornado's knowledge, there was one other dragon that had already faced their demons. And when it came their time to face them, they would conquer those fears once more and free the others.

That is, if the others survived long enough for them to be rescued.

 **Author's Note: Now, I know that was a bit depressing, and things won't really be any better for the next few chapters, but I will still try to have the occasional moment to hopefully cheer you readers up. But this is all necessary to show how bad a dragon Tornado truly is, and there are many fears our good dragons still have yet to face, which will give some more backstory on some of them, specifically Asteroid and Frostbite, who I will have in next week's chapter. Anyhow, I also didn't get as much done in this chapter as i had hoped, since there was a lot to go over, so expect the final date for when this story ends to go up a week or two (not that any of you would really complain at more of this story, that is). Also, if there is anything you want to see in the story's epilogue, such as how specific friendships are going afterwards or what is happening to specific dragons when the story ends, please tell me, and I will try to include it. For now though ,thank you all for reading and all your support with this story, and the next chapter will be up next week.**


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

 _Continuing the story from Asteroid's perspective…_

I had stayed calm the whole time I fell through the twisting stone tunnel that was on the other side of the door. I had tried to focus on the other's thoughts as I continued to fall through the tunnel, and I could hear that they were all in similar situations as I was. However, I soon couldn't hear them as they went deeper and deeper, and soon they were all so far that I could no longer hear them.

Even though I knew I needed to stay calm, there was something about the silence in the tunnel that was...maddening. The only sound was that created as my scales rubbed against the stone walls around me, but soon that noise became familiar and the tunnel I was in sounded silent. I couldn't stand the silence, for even when I was alone in the rainforest, there would always be the faint hums created by the local animal's thoughts, even if I couldn't understand them.

When I thought I was finally going to go truly insane from the silence, I saw a light up ahead through the tunnel. I then fell into the light, and felt all senses leave me for a moment as everything went white. When they returned, I found myself blinking my eyes as I felt the sun above me heat my scales as the sand underneath me sifted through my claws.

My eyes opened quickly as I got up and looked around, confusion racking my brain. How was I suddenly in the desert? Teleportation was likely, though an illusion or trick created by Tornado was more likely. I immediately put myself on high alert, knowing that if Tornado was going to do something, it would be soon, and it would more than likely be something that I wasn't ready for.

Closing my eyes, I drowned out the silence of the desert, which wasn't that hard, as the desert had normally been silent when I used to live there, and I focussed on trying to see the near future. I had improved greatly since joining Jack and the others, with possible futures coming more often than before, but with those possible futures came more _what if_ possibilities, and it was still hard to decide if one vision would be more likely than another, aside from how clear the vision was.

As I focused, I could see images playing out. It looked like a large tower, and there were several floors that I could see into as I stared at it. Each room was different, such as one being in the arctic north, while another was on a beach to the east. In each of these floors looked like a dragon I recognized, including myself, and we all appeared...defeated. All of us were slumped over, whether in terror or in pain, both emotional and physical.

One room was different, however, with the top level of the tower looking to be like some form of large living quarters, and another dragon much larger than the others seemed to be sitting there, grinning as she looked down at the other floors from several mirrors before her.

I tried looking deeper into the vision, but it suddenly was replaced with another. All nine of us were reunited, and we all stood in that familiar living quarter again. However, only one of us stood standing, for the rest were laying on the ground, either dead or close to it. Tornado stood there, laughing, but her laughing was hushed suddenly as she fell over, and the final dragon standing slumped over her now dead self and cried.

This future needed to be prevented, I knew that, so I tried to focus in on the room, trying to force the vision to go back and maybe show other possibilities. It seemed like it was actually working, and so I focused harder, and maybe in just a moment, I would be able to prevent this from happening and…

"You always did focus more on your powers than I did, didn't you?" A familiar voice said from behind me, and my eyes shot open as my concentration was lost and I whirled around. My breath caught in my throat as my eyes opened wide at who stood before me. _"This can't be real."_ I thought to myself. _" She has to be an illusion._

I thought this due to how, standing in front of me, was my sister. Comet grinned at me with the vain grin I had grown used to over the years, even though she was smaller than I was and usually got into more trouble than I did. She was entirely black with dark gray and purple under scales and pure white horns next to the two shining scales next to her eyes like tears.

"Trust me sis, I'm as real as I can possibly get." She said, making me step by in surprise. _Illusions can't read thoughts...can they?_ Comet looked annoyed at this. "Of course illusions can't read thoughts, dummy. And geez, after all this time looking for you, this is how you say hello after all this time?"

I stepped back in shock, tears welling in the corners of my eyes. "Why were you searching for _me?!_ " I cried out, making my sister step back in surprise. "I was the one that waited in that cave all that time in the rainforest, waiting for you! But then the war ended, and since you hadn't come back, I began looking for you! Where have you been!?" I yelled out.

Comet looked confused and a bit nervous at this. "Wow, you've definitely changed a bit sis. I don't think I've ever seen you express your emotions like this before." She then looked serious while mildly remorseful as she looked directly at me. "I didn't mean to leave you alone in that cave, Asteroid. After I left, I got injured myself…" Comet trailed off, ducking her head down to show me her head.

I gasped, for on the top of Comet's head was a small scar as if she had been hit hard enough to damage and bend the scales. "When looking for help, I ran into some vicious Seawings who were just looking for a fight. One of them got me with their tail, and I blacked out. When I woke up...I had completely forgotten who I was, and where you were."

I looked at my sister confusedly, wondering what happened after that. "I roamed about for a while, trying to just survive and figure out who I was. It wasn't until I met this great dragon a few weeks ago that I was able to not only remember who I was, but also where you were. She allowed me to go looking for you, on the promise that I'd come back when she needed me. If I had known she needed me to just talk and reunite with you, then I'm fine with that!" Comet yelled happily.

However, I wasn't as happy, for I could tell who this dragon was before Comet even spoke. However, I didn't need to, as the dragon in question appeared suddenly right before us.

Tornado smiled gently down at us, though I could see in her eyes that this was just part of her plan. "Hello Asteroid, and hello again to you Comet. Before either of you say, _or think_ ," she said, looking at us carefully, "anything, I'd like to make you a proposition…"

 _Meanwhile, several moments ago, another illusion was created, and Rivlet was forced to face it…_

I backed away from them, not wanting to believe what was right in front of me. After sliding down the tunnels for some time, I fell into a light, and found myself in the swampy marshes I had grown up in. After looking around curiously for a moment, I saw several figures approaching me from the fog that was not to uncommon in the marshes.

However, upon seeing these dragons, and the states they were in, I couldn't help but gag and want to cry at the same time. "You're not real. This isn't even possible! Even if you were alive, your muscles would have decayed too much to allow you to move!" I said, trying to use logic to escape from the horror as my dead siblings approached me.

" _Ah, Rivlet, always trying to use your mind instead of actually fighting."_ The largest of them rasped at me, and I was so overcome with fear that I couldn't even remember their names. _"Of course, that why you were such a coward, after all. And why you hid and let us diiieee."_

Shaking my head, I tried to get away, but found myself surrounded by the rotting corpses of all of my siblings. "No! I...I didn't hide! I just...I didn't want to fight! I didn't know you would die! Even during war, it's impossible to predict when and where certain soldiers where be, and if their experience and fighting styles are…"

I was slapped out of my explanation by another siblings, the mud staining the side of my face as it stung with fresh pain. " _SHUT UP!"_ They all yelled at once. " _You were always so annoying, and it seems time and grief haven't changed a thing. For once in your life, could you be_ quiet!? _"_ The bigwings yelled.

Whimpering, I curled into a ball. " _Yeah, that's right. Do what you always do and retreat into yourself instead of facing the actual problem, you coward."_ He hissed at me, in which the others began to chant coward behind me.

Tears began to appear on the outside of my eyes as he continued. " _You were never a fighter, but maybe if you had been there, we would all have lived. You let us down, Rivlet, and our deaths are all your fault."_ Two of my siblings began chanting "all your fault" while the other two continued saying "coward".

As he continues throwing spite at me, I retreat to my brain, trying to explain any of this rationally. But I can't for their chanting invades my thoughts, and I can't help but agree with them. I am a coward, and their deaths _are_ my fault.

Please, someone make this nightmare end.

 _In a stone structure known as the Skywing Kingdom, whether real or not, from Pryope's view…_

 _"Please, someone make this nightmare end."_ I thought to myself as I stared at the dead form of Ruby laying before me, her scales blending in with the puddle of blood underneath her. Sitting atop the throne behind her was Scarlet, who was currently wearing a smug expression as she wiped the blood from her claws.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. Now, onto dealing with _you_." Scarlet said, glaring at me. "Don't think I hadn't heard of you and your little rebels. I chose to ignore you since you posed no great threat, but since you had the nerve to try and replace me the second I was gone…"

Scarlet leapt down from the throne and began to stride towards me confidently, meanwhile I tried to break free from the chains that held me to the ground. "I could just kill you, which would be thrilling in itself after what you did, and I could even use you as a martyr, and have you take the blame for my oh dear daughter's unfortunate demise." She said sarcastically.

I winced, knowing Ruby's death was on my talons. If I had just been here. "Yes, I could kill you and say that you came to kill Ruby for me, and that you were a traitor, which wouldn't be wrong since you betrayed me by going against my commands _and_ you left Ruby while I came here to kill her myself. Oh, such a perfect and thrilling plan if I do say so myself." Scarlet said as she traced a talon across my throat.

Right as she began to apply pressure, she withdrew her claw from my throat. "That will have to wait, of course. Because first I have to use you to figure out who the other traitors were. I can't just go and continue ruling with several vermine still trying to remove me from the throne, can I?" She asked.

I glared at the ex queen, putting as much as hate and bravery into it as I could. "I won't tell you _anything_ , you snake. The Skywings were better without you, and I won't tell you anything as long as there are others who will stand up to you!"

Scarlet actually laughed as I said this, before giving me an evil grin. "Oh, I don't expect you to tell me anything _willingly_. That would take all the fun out of it!" She then grasped my head in her talons and brought them to her own. "So, what first? Should I remove all your scales one by one? Or should I remove your wings, put them on backwards, and see if you can still fly?"

I felt the blood drain from my face, my worst fears coming to life as Scarlet cackled. "Oh, this will be so _thrilling!"_

 _With snow covering the icy ground, Frostbite is forced to face demons of his own…_

"No! Get away from me!" Frostbite growled while glaring at the dragon before him, while uncharacteristically taking a prehensive step backwards. "I left, just like you wanted, now leave me alone!"

The older male Icewing glared down at Frostbite. "Still as weak and as foolish as ever, I see. How disappointing, but as usual I knew you would never learn." He breathed out a breath of ice as his stare intensified. "You're coming back with me to the Ice kingdom. Obviously there is more you still need to learn, and I'll force you to remember everything you're taught this time." His tale flicked, the sharpened spikes on the end cluttering and reflecting light at Frostbite. "One way or another."

Frostbite took another step back, though now his legs were beginning to shake. "No." He said as quietly and as defiantly as possible, even though his voice escaped him.

His father still heard it though, and his glare turned into a look of anger. "... _What_ did you just say?" He said, his claws beginning to flex threateningly.

After standing still for a moment, Frostbite forced himself to look up at his father's face. "I said no! There are dragons waiting for me, and without me, everyone is doomed, even you, not that I would care! I will not let you control me again, even if it means I have to fight you." Frostbite got into a stance, ready to fight. "For the first time in my life, I have friends that depend on me, and I won't let you stop me from…"

Frostbite was stopped short as he was slammed in the side, _hard._ Frostbite cried out, his side feeling like his ribs were broken, but his father wasn't finished. He proceeded to grab Frostbite's tail by the weak point, his claws digging in and sending pain through his body as his father suddenly threw him into a nearby wall of ice.

All the air escaped Frostbite when he slammed into the wall, and he had no time to recover as his father appeared on top of him, with his claws against his neck. "Stop pretending, Frostbite. We both know you have no friends, not with how dishonorable you act. But I'll get that notion out of you, one way or another."

Frostbite looked around, and saw a wicked looking icicle right next to him. As his father continued, saying how he was going to make his son bring honor to his family one way or another, Frostbite grasped it and slammed it into his father's side.

His father cried out in pain, and using the distraction, Frostbite quickly got out from under him. Quickly turning back into a battle stance, his father removed the spike and stared down at the now blue covered object. He then looked up at Frostbite, a grin on his face, which terrified Frostbite, for he had never seen his father smile before.

"Well, it looks like you did learn something while you were away…" His father trailed off, before the grin was replaced with a crazed look as his father smiled maniacally. "That means I don't have to hold back!"

For the first time in a long time, Frostbite felt true fear as his father charged towards him.

 _However, in another place, we are welcome back to the familiar perspective of Static..._

I didn't know how long I had fallen and slipped through those tunnels. It might have been hours, days, or even months. I didn't know. The tunnel seemed to stretch on forever, and I was starting to wonder if this was Tornado's trap, and if I would just fall until I died.

If I had known where I would land, I would have stayed in that tunnel.

After some time, I saw a light approaching. I had no time to prepare for it as I was suddenly thrust forth into it, the light blinding me and taking away all sense of sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch.

When the feeling faded, I found myself laying in the snow, on an empty street. Surprise filled me from my surroundings, and looking down at myself, I realized I was human once more.

"No….no, she couldn't have. She...she didn't." I whispered to myself, looking around. I recognized this street, and even though it was near my house, I hadn't been near it in years, for it was where the incident occured. But that didn't matter to me at the moment, as I focused on what was happening.

I had been sent back home, and was back to my old self...but what about the others? Were they still back there? Did Tornado do something to them? Did they find themselves against Tornado themselves, all wondering where I went. Sure, they could all fight, and they might be able to defeat her but...I still needed to find a way back to them. I needed to make sure they wouldn't get hurt. I needed to tell them that I was okay.

I needed to get back to Singularity.

I began to trudge through the snow, but as I did, the light of a vehicle blinded me as it rounded the corner and began to approach me. I covered my eyes as I was momentarily blinded, and as I watched the car approach, I saw that they were slowing down, which gave me a better view of the car and the driver.

What I saw made my blood freeze, and I felt as cold as the surrounding snow.

The car stopped next to me, and after a moment, the side door of the large white van opened. Standing there was a hideous man, but a man I recognized, for he had haunted my dreams for a long time. "Hey kid, what are you doing in the snow without a jacket? Come on in, I'll take you somewhere warm…"

I couldn't move, for the flashbacks were filling my vision. However, the man shrugged, not caring about my response, and proceeded to grab me and tried to bring me into the van. As he did so, I became aware of the situation, and began to try and pull away.

"No, let go of me! I won't let you take me!" I shouted, trying to get away from the man. However, he had a grip like iron, and I couldn't get away. As I tried to pull free from his grip, he used his other hand and punched me in the face, dazing me.

Slumping into the snow, the man shook his head. "Geez, they make 'em weaker these days. Ah well, hopefully he'll last longer than the last one. Now where did I put that duct tape?" He asked, going back into his truck.

As I tried to get my vision straight, the pain racking my head, I saw the glimmer of silver out of the corner of my eye. _"It's him or you."_ A voice echoed in my mind as my body reflexingly reached for the gun. " _If you don't kill him, he'll kill you. If you die, you'll lose everyone, and everyone will lose you. Is that what you want?"_

"No…" I whimpered, though I wasn't sure what I had said it for as I pointed the gun at the man. _"Do you want to die?"_ "No.." _"Do you want Singularity to never see you again?"_ "No." _"Do you not want to live out your days with Singularity next to you?"_ "No!"

The man turned around, confusion and then fear on his face. " _DO YOU NOT LOVE SINGULARITY!?"_ The voice yelled. "NO!" I yelled out as the man held up his hands, though I could see one reaching for a nearby knife.

" _THEN_ _ **KILL HIM!"**_ The voice yelled, and as the man went to stab me, I pulled the trigger. Time stopped with the bang as tears fells down my face. The man stood there, frozen, before falling to the snow covered ground, in which it turned red underneath him.

I fell to the ground, sobbing, having to become a killer once more. _"She'll never love you."_ The voice said, in which case I clutched my arms to my sides, the tears falling stronger. " _She could never love a killer. If she knew the truth, if she knew what you've done. That's why you never told her. You were afraid. And you had every right to be, because you know she'll never love a killer."_

Crying harder, I knew the voice was right. I didn't deserve her, for if she knew the truth, she would never love me. As I slumped into the red snow, I only had the soft sound of the coming snow to occupy my beaten thoughts…

 _Meanwhile, in another version of the desert, from the eyes of Sahara…_

I took a step back, confused as to where I was. A moment ago, I had been in the tunnel, sliding for what felt like forever, and then there was that light...and now I was at the Scorpion Den? That didn't make sense.

But sure enough, I was back where I had been living before, but something was wrong. This wasn't the Scorpion Den I remembered. Everything was in chaos, with every dragon glaring at one another, as if ready for a fight to defend what they owned. Thieves were everywhere, both noticeable and unnoticeable, with merchants yelling out in frustration at the realization that they had been robbed once more.

Where were the Outclaws? Why was everything like...before, once more? I decided to begin moving my way to the streets, trying to get to the main base of operations of the Outclaws, though I still kept wary of the other dragons, making sure none of my gear was taken from me.

When I finally reached the the end, my eyes widened in shock. The outclaws were there all right...but they were dead. I grimaced, looking away from the sight. Their bodies had been left to rot on the building that was now only ashes of what had been headquarters, which was a common enough message of "You're not wanted here" in the Scorpion Den.

I sighed, wondering what had happened. I could only hope that none of my acquaintances had been here when this happened, though usually the nicer ones where at the castle with Thorn. Wait...if this happened here, why wasn't Thorn doing anything about it?

Before I could ponder this any further, my eyes caught on a piece of paper. Noticing it, I walked forwards, curious. My eyes widened in shock, due to what the paper read. On it, a picture of myself was drawn, and it was a wanted poster...for the murder of Thorn.

"There she is!" I heard a shout behind me. Turning around, I saw several dragons looking at me greedily, as if they weren't after me for justice, but only for the reward. Before they could even take a step in my direction, I ran, moving quickly back and forth between dragons as they yelled at me and the dragons behind me gave chase.

A million thoughts were running through my head as I strove to get outside of the Scorpion Den. Why did it say I was the killer? I would never let do that, especially if it meant that the Scorpion Den would return to the state it was...back then.

However, as I passed through the streets, my mind going over how I was going to clear my name, I saw a reflection of myself in a metal bowl as I ran pass another stall. In that split second I saw myself, realization dawned on me. Memories flashed before my eyes, memories I had long tried to forget. Memories of my childhood. Memories of running and stealing and being blamed for crimes I didn't commit, and getting away with both the ones I did and didn't do.

That's what life did to you when you grew up in the Scorpion Den.

But as all these memories passed, I finally remembered where I was, and where I had been. I still didn't know how I got here, or why I was in trouble, or what even happened...but I knew that didn't matter. I needed to get back to the cave and reunite with the others, as quickly as possible.

With that thought in my mind, I ran harder, and eventually I saw the gate. I opened my wings wide and took a jump in the air, but as I heard something whisk through the air behind me, I quickly hug my wings towards myself and turned right, just as a dagger flew past me.

I quickly readjusted my wings, and after a moment, I was flying outside once more. Once in the air, I began flying East, towards the mountains. However, as I did so, I began thinking, and just realized the situation.

These were some of my worst fears come to life…Thorn dead, the Scorpion Den in ruin, and everyone wanted me dead once more. My worst fears, since I had always lived every day in fear as I grew up, never knowing if it would be my last.

While I knew that these problems were great, and I wanted to both take a moment to cry or to figure out what had happened...I knew I couldn't. My fears come true could wait. There were dragons dependent on me, dragons that were my friends. Whether they would want me dead as well after they found out what happened...that would have to wait. We had a world to save, after all.

Right as I said this, everything seemed to...change. One moment, I had been flying through the skies, determined to find my friends again, not stopping for one moment to focus on my fears, then suddenly I'm laying on the ground in a marble white and smoothed stone cave, with torches lined along the walls showing the bright stone all around.

As I got up, confused, I heard something close behind me. Turning around, I saw the desert, though it was all wavy, like a mirage. After I looked at it, it disappeared as a door closed behind it, with a familiar gold gem in the center of the gem.

Looking along the wall where I had come from, I saw all the other gemstones from the gate represented as doors, and I began to piece things together. None of that had been real...it was just an illusion created by Tornado.

I suddenly wanted to jump in joy, glad that I had beaten Tornado's trap, but then I realized something...I was the only one there. Looking around, none of the others were with me, and it seemed like I was the only one that had beaten the trap so far.

Fear once more gripped my heart. I had just faced my worst fear, but I had already faced it once before, and I knew that there were things more important at stake, so I was able to beat it. But the others, who might not have been able to destroy their fears, especially if they believed it all to be real…

I quickly ran up to a door and slammed my fists into it, trying to get their attention. "It's just an illusion!" I shouted. "It isn't real! You have to get out of there!" However, as much as I yelled and pounded, I began to wonder if they could hear me at all.

Stepping back, I realized I had been pounding at Tempest's door. I wanted to try something, and if I was to free the others, Tempest would be the best to start with, for even though she was confusing, her strange logic would easily convince the others they were just in illusions.

However, as I prepared to put my hand on the gem, I froze. Would the door even let me in? If it did, would I even be able to face whatever Tempest feared? However, I quickly shook these thoughts from my head. I had to try, especially if the illusions could actually hurt the others...or worse.

With this in mind, I placed my claw on the door, and much to my surprise, I found myself thrown inside, facing Tempest's worst fear alongside her.

 **Author's note: ...Man, it's taking me longer to get through these then expected. There will probably be three more chapters, I suspect, though maybe four, since I'm not certain how long all of these fears will take to get through. Anyhow, thank you all so much for reading this far. I mean, 45 whole chapters, sheesh. But once again, thank you for your continued support on this story, it means a lot to me, and as usual, the next chapter will be up next week.**


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

 _Continuing from Sahara's perspective…_

After I had fallen into the illusion, I felt all my senses leave me once more before returning as I found myself in a dark cave that smelled of the ocean. As I blinked my eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness, I heard a scream from further into the cave, which made me immediately look in that direction with concern. _"That was Tempest!_ " I thought, and once I was certain I was fully able to move, I began running down the cave, wincing as her screams grew. Whatever she was going through, it was painful, and I needed to help her quickly.

I turned through the corridors, taking turns left and right, and even though I wanted to contemplate where I was going so I knew how to get back, I knew getting to Tempest was more important. So I kept running through the caves, and as I drew near, I could only hope that Tempest would be able to recover from what she was experiencing, from what I was hearing.

Finally, I came across a large room in the cave, with Tempest strapped to a strange but familiar looking bed in the center of it, with a dead and also familiar looking dragon standing over her. My eyes widened, knowing what was happening, as the dead dragon turned towards me, confusion in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?! No one else should be here!" He shouted, and as he did, Tempest weakly opened her eyes and looked towards me. She looked so far gone...but I knew I could still help her. However, before I could do anything, the dragon charged, wielding a electric eel in his guarded claws.

As I jumped away from him, the eel soaring past me, I looked towards Tempest, who was weakly watching us. "Tempest, this is just an illusion! I don't know if the pain you are feeling is real or not, but you need to push through it!" As I said this, I quickly ducked under the dragon, the eel swinging over my head as I did so, and ran over to Tempest.

Getting to the table, I quickly swung my claws and my tail, destroying all of the bindings that held Tempest down. As I turned around to face the dragon once more, I heard Tempest utter something, which was barely audible due to the static coming from the flopping eel. "...why did you come for me? Isn't my presence just an annoyance to the party?"

Quickly spinning around, I kicked the dragon in the chest, knocking him away, though I winced as the eel brushed my leg, causing a torrent of pain that numbed my leg to shoot through my scales. _"So you can feel pain here…"_ I idly thought, before turning around to Tempest.

Even though I was in the middle of a fight, I looked sincerely at Tempest, my voice becoming quieter to emphasize how serious I was. "Tempest, you're our _friend_. We would never think you're annoying, because we could never _hate_ you. Please, believe me." I said, knowing we couldn't escape until she faced her fears.

Tempest looked down, unsure, as I quickly jumped away as the dragon tried to hit me with his tail. As I continued to avoid him, I tried to attack back, but soon noticed that any cuts I laid on him, he ignored, meaning that I couldn't beat him. Didn't stop me from trying, though, as Tempest shook her head.

"I...I can't. These scales are that of an insane abnormality, one that can only inflict pain and suffering upon others. You may believe the knowledge you speak, but you know not of the consequences a friendship with me that appear to occur."

It pained me to see her like that, so battered and beaten. And yet, her words never changed, those words I had grown so fond of hearing. I knew I needed to shake her out of it, but words weren't working. I once more knocked the dragon away, this time using another nearby bed to pin him down momentarily, before making my way to Tempest swiftly.

Her head continued to hang down, no longer wanting to acknowledge me. I sat in front of her, and placed her gleaming blue scales atop my hands. Tempest looked at me with a mixture of confusion and sadness in her eyes. "If you tell any of the others I did this, I will deny it and claim that you just ate some smokeberries to imagine it."

Before she could speak, asking what I meant, I closed the distance between us, and gave her a quick kiss.

I hurriedly pulled away, a faint blush on both of our faces. So yeah, I had fallen for the insane Seawing that was my friend, so what? However, as I was about to speak up once more, in which I was going to try and inspire her to get up once more, hoping the kiss had helped, I was abruptly pushed to the side, and was pinned to the ground with the smell of death above me.

"Ah, there we go. Now, if I just hold this to you for about a minute, it should be enough to finally be rid of you, in which I'll finally be able to go back to what I was doing before I was so rudely interrupted." As he finished, he wielded the eel in both hands, using his feet to keep my claws pinned down, as he began to lower the eel towards me.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Tempest yelled, and I watched wide eyed as Tempest found whatever strength she had left and flung herself off the bed, her claws bared at the mad dragon. And, right as her claws made contact with his scales, we both were transported, in which we found ourselves back in the large exit room.

I slowly got up, though I was disoriented from the sudden change in surroundings, so it took me a minute to orient myself properly. Once I was fully up, I looked over to Tempest, who had just gotten up herself and was looking around the room in wonder and curiosity.

As I stared at her, I felt a blush creeping up my face. Had I really admitted my feelings to her so suddenly? I had been trying to take things slow, that way I knew that what i felt was actually love, and I did it so casually as to hide it from the others, but after seeing her in so much pain, I just…

My thoughts were broken as Tempest turned towards me, and wrapped me in a hug suddenly. I froze, not knowing what to do, but before I could think of a response, the hug was over, and Tempest was smiling at me. "My thanks, Sahara. If it hadn't been for your course of actions, I would surely have fallen to the illusion's harsh intentions."

After she said that, a similar blush to mine appeared on her face, and she continued, though she sounded more uncertain than before. "So….about your method of freeing me of the trance…"

I held up a hand and looked at her sympathetically. "We'll...talk about it later. I promise. But we have other problems to worry about. The others are still stuck in their illusions, and we have to go and free them."

Tempest nodded in understanding, though gave me a look that made me know she would hold me to my promise. I gulped, not looking forward to that conversation, but continued. "We should probably free Asteroid and Rivlet next, since they're clear thinkers and will be able to help us free the rest. So, which one do you want to free? Or should we stick together instead and do Asteroid first?"

Before Tempest could speak up, the door with the black gem on it, which was Asteroid's door, opened, and Asteroid flew out of it. Tempest and I quickly shared a look before running over to our friend, that way we could ensure she was alright.

When we reached her, she was looking around confused, disoriented like we had been. When she saw us though, she seemed to calm down, and slowly got off the ground and smiled softly at us. "Ah, I'm glad to see that you two made it through the illusions. I take it the others are still trapped though?"

I nodded, but as I did, Tempest approached Asteroid, her head cocked curiously. "My eyes show me signs that your trials were as vicious as ours. What were your experiences that would cause your tear ducts to function?"

Asteroid looked away, and I noticed now the wet lines against her eyes, showing that she had been crying. "My trial...was different. I was made an offer, a lot like Jack was, but I declined. I'd… rather not talk about it."

 _About an hour ago, from Asteroid's point of view…_

"I don't want to hear anything you have to offer me, you monster!" I shouted up at Tornado, meanwhile my sister looked at me in confusion and shock at my outburst. However, before she could ask what I meant, or before I could continue, Tornado waved her claw back and forth before speaking herself.

"Ah ah ah, you haven't even heard what I'm willing to give you yet! So at least listen to me before deciding whether or not to call me a monster please." I continued to glare at her, but knew it would probably be in my best interest to stay silent, especially since a brief vision showed me she could just as easily get rid of me if I continued to speak.

After a minute of silence (and continued confusion from my sister, both externally and internally), Tornado nodded and continued. "Ah, much better. I do prefer the silence myself, you know. But that's probably just because I've grown used to it after the last thousand or two years." Tornado chuckled to herself, in which I continued to glare and Comet chuckled nervously.

"Now, as for my proposition…" Tornado said, trailing off for a moment for suspense. "As you can see, I brought you your sister and returned all of her memories. And I'll let her stay that way, and you two can leave as soon as we're done here. In fact, I will even give you this." Tornado said, and with a snap of her talons, a scroll appeared in her talons.

"What's that?" Comet asked curiously. But her question wasn't needed, as the thought had appeared in both of our heads the second Tornado thought to summon it. My glare dropped, now taken by one of surprise and equal wonder to my sister. "That is...it can't be…"

"Yes," Tornado said, nodding. "It's a map that has been enchanted to show the current location of your mother."

Comet and I froze, both wanting to see the map, to know if it was the truth. We had always dreamed of finding our mother and finally reuniting with her. And now she was finally within claw's reach, just inches away...but I knew better.

"What's the catch?" I asked, getting Tornado's attention while breaking my sister out of her amazement of the map. "I know you by now, and I know that such a thing isn't going to be given to us so simply."

Tornado shook her head. "Oh no, it really is quite that simple. If you and your sister leave, then I'll give you both the map, and we'll never have to see each other again." As Tornado said this, she clutched the map suddenly and glared back at me, which caused Comet to step back in surprise. "However," Tornado growled, "If you _don't_ decide to take my deal, I'll return everything back to before. No _map_ , no _memories_ , and no _sister_."

Comet looked afraid now, and I felt the same way. We could feel each other's fear, and I knew I would have to make a decision. But...could I really make a choice between the world and my family? Is this what Jack felt like when he was given a similar offer? In that case, I knew what I had to do, but knowing and doing are such different things.

If I took the offer, my sister and I could be reunited, and we could finally find our mother and live like a family is supposed to. But then so many innocent dragons would die, including my friends...how was I supposed to make a decision like this?

"You don't have to." My sister said, and I turned to her, surprised by what she had said. Tornado was confused by what she said, and looked towards her as she continued to speak. "We decline." Comet said, before a torrent of flames left her mouth and enveloped the scroll and Tornado's hand.

Tornado yelled out in surprise and pain for a moment, and I quickly ran over to my sister. "What do you think you're doing? She's going to make you lose your memories again! You'll be forced to wander again, and I'm not sure I'll be able to find you again, let alone make you better!"

Comet smiled softly. "It's okay sis. I saw your mind. I know what she intends to do now. This is for the best. Besides, saving Pyrrhia is more important than saving one or two dragons. I'll be fine, and I'm sure you'll find me once you stop her."

Tornado stomped over to us, clearly angry, before growling. "Fine, then that is your decision. You'll come to regret this, both of you." With that, she snapped her talons and vanished.

As she vanished, the desert turned dark, and we were in a closed cave, just like the one I had lived in for so long. And after a moment, the scraping of stone could be heard, and I saw the walls were closing in.

I quickly looked back towards my sister, knowing we had to get out of here quickly. However, my sister was now clutching her head, and I could feel in her mind that she was already beginning to forget things, and my eyes widened as her talons began to fade, as if she was disappearing before my eyes.

Tears left my eyes as I grabbed onto her. "No! I can't lose you again!" I shouted, trying to do anything I could to stop her from disappearing. However, as I began looking around her and trying to shake her out of it, she calmly grabbed my shoulders and looked me in my eyes.

"It's okay sis." Comet said, though I could see she was straining to remember who I was. "I'll be fine...talons it's getting hard….just get out of here and find me, okay? The exit...the exit...it's there?" She questioned, pointing at a small break in the rocks in front of me. "Now go...and...and...a riverbed with a star shaped rock in the center...you'll find me at the...the...who are you?"

I couldn't stop crying as my sister fully forgot me, and then fully disappeared. "A riverbed with a star shaped rock in the center…" I muttered to myself. I wouldn't forget this, and I would find her once this was over.

Once more motivated to defeat Tornado, now knowing where I could find my sister, I lept towards the rocks and disappeared.

 _In the present, from Sahara's perspective…_

I nodded, knowing that whatever Asteroid had just went through, she would need time to get through it. I imagined we would all have talks with each other once this was all done, as the others would more than likely carry emotional scars from what they were experiencing. Speaking of…

Asteroid nodded at my thoughts. "Yes, we need to work on freeing the others." She said, and began walking to the doors that we had all emerged from. "It will be faster if we each take a door. I'll deal with Rivlet, since I'll be able to get him out of whatever state his mind might be in currently from what he's experiencing. If I can explain it to him rationally, he'll certainly be free."

I nodded, and Tempest did so as well as she spoke up as she approached the second grey door, which was the one that held Sara. "I will go after the second anomaly, for her skills with her claws will certainly be useful when extracting the guard and the ice cube's more violent visions." I laughed a bit at Frostbite being called an ice cube, and decided to choose a door myself.

Surveying my options, there was Static/Jack, Singularity, Pryope, and Frostbite left to choose from. As Tempest said, we would need help when going into Pryope's and Frostbite's prisons, as they were more than likely going to be violent. However, with only Jack and Singularity left...I knew I had to choose Singularity, as much as I wanted to help Jack. However, with everything that Jack has gone through, and anything he possibly went through back in his world, it would be too risky to fight his fears alone, especially if he was still facing them.

Asteroid nodded at my rational thinking as I walked towards the green door. I looked towards the others as I prepared to put my hand on the door. Tempest was smiling softly at me, and Asteroid had a reassuring smile as well as she nodded lightly. Feeling reassured, I smiled confidently as we all placed our claws on the doors, and thus all disappeared from the chamber.

Once more, everything went white, and my senses were taken from me, but as before they returned a moment later as I found myself in the unfamiliar terrain of the rainforest. I looked around in horror though, for this was not the rainforest I had heard about many a time from Jack and Singularity. The trees were burnt down and dead, and the sky was red with the air smelling of death.

I heard sobbing coming from ahead of me, and I shook my head, reminding myself as to where I actually was and what I was here to do. Moving quickly across the dead and decaying plant life, I hurried to get to Singularity.

Moving past several dead trees, I finally found her, with her body weakly sobbing in a puddle of red, while a stone statue of Static stood over her and whispered towards her in a rumbly voice, as if it was gargling stones as it spoke.

Not knowing what this statue's fighting capabilities were, I decided to use the fact I hadn't been seen yet to my advantage, and quietly snuck up behind the statue. Once I was in position, my eyes widened as I saw the statue bring up its claws, as if it was about to bring them down on my friend. With the look of malice in its eyes, I knew this was the case, and so I rushed forward before it could perform the wicked deed.

Yelling out as I leapt forward, I got both Singularity's and the statue's attention as I slammed the stone head of the figure into the ground. Singularity looked up at me in shock, disbelief and awe, as if trying to determine if I was real or not.

I smiled down at her from atop the statue as I kept its head pinned into the dirt, though its wings were flapping wildly to try and push me off. "Singularity, it really is me. As for everything else, such as the forest, the statue and whatever it was telling you, that was all fake. Now I need you to stab this stupid thing before it can try and do the same to me and you."

Singularity smiled at me, more tears brimming along her eyes as the whites, browns and blacks disappeared from her scales, being slowly replaced with lavenders and yellows. "I knew it wasn't true...it couldn't have been true…" Singularity said softly, the smile on her face growing as the tears started flowing.

Her smile disappeared though as she glared at the statue which was still unable to pull its snout from the rotten dirt. "This statue...it voiced all my fears ever since I met Jack. I was always afraid for his safety, or that I wouldn't be good enough to help him save the world, and...and if he really loved me or not."

Singularity stood up and walked around to face the statue face to face, in which it stopped struggling as the two glared at one another. "I will not be afraid anymore. I know that whatever happens, it will be for the best. And I know Static will never hate me." With that, she opened her mouth and shot her venom at the statue, and the second her venom met with its gleaming eye gems, we were teleported back to the central chamber.

 _Meanwhile, from Asteroid's point of view…_

I sighed as I finally regained my senses, not enjoying the feeling of mud on my claws. But I knew it was fake, and that there were more pressing issues than mud getting in between my scales.

Following the sounds of a struggle and several harsh whispers, I came across Rivlet. The hardened and serious gaze I was wearing softened as I saw what was happening, as Rivlet's dead siblings continued to whisper to the poor Mudwing about how their deaths were his fault.

Shaking my head, I knew this was going to be difficult. After all, he had lost several siblings, and easily took all the blame for it with nobody to tell him it wasn't his fault. That would change now, though, as I walked up to his siblings…

And set them on fire.

Three of his dead siblings were set ablaze by my flames in an instant, and the others quickly jumped away and went to help put the others out. As they did that, I walked over and knelt down to Rivlet, who still hadn't even looked up yet.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, I noticed he flinched as he spoke. "It isn't real Rivlet. Surely you can see that." I said.

Rivlet looked up slowly, his eyes wide. I winced, seeing how bloodshot they were, and I could only imagine the emotional trauma he had experienced. "I...I know." He whispered, his voice hoarse from sobbing.

I looked at him confusingly as he continued. "It doesn't change anything though." He explained, looking down. "They're right. I was too smart and too much of a coward. Their deaths are on my claws, and I can't live knowing that." He said as he held up his hands and looked down at his claws.

Shaking my head, I grab his claws, which made him look up at me. "That isn't true Rivlet. If you had gone with them that day, you would have died just as surely as they had. Even then, if you truly knew your siblings, you know they would never blame you for your actions. If anything, they would be glad that you _survived_ , because then you can keep living and still remember them."

Rivlet still looked uncertain, and I continued. "Losing a sibling...it's hard, and I can only imagine it's worse for you. But you have to keep going Rivlet, because the past is in the past, and nothing will change that. So please, just focus on the present, and let's get out of here."

Being silent for a moment, Rivlet smiled softly, though I could tell he was still in pain. "Yeah...that's a good idea." Getting up from the ground, Rivlet turned towards his siblings, who were all glaring at us but were staying silent.

Taking in a deep breath, Rivlet looked at his siblings one last time and breathed out one simple word before we were both whisked away back to the central chamber.

"Goodbye."

 _Meanwhile, from Tempest's perspective…_

Once I could smell, hear and see again, I almost wished I couldn't. Sara's issues were...more violent than I had anticipated, for surrounding me were our friends, including me, except...we were all dead.

Looking around and trying to ignore the scent of death that filled the air, I found the young dragon in mind crouched over the dead body of her brother, sobbing. I stopped for a moment, knowing I would have to be careful, and slowly approached the girl.

Her sobs became quieter as I approached, until they stopped altogether and her head quickly swung around. When she saw me, her eyes opened so wide they looked like they were going to pop out of her head. She didn't move though, and could only whisper as she stared at me. "T..Te...Tempest…?" She croaked out.

I nodded and sat down in front of her. "The one and only...unless you count the general mother, that is." I said, trying to add in a joke, but Sara just looked away. This was going to be tougher than I thought as I spoke again. "What of these bodies, Sara? They aren't real, but why would you be fearful of attacking our own?" I asked.

Sara winced, before quietly speaking. "I had a feeling, but I couldn't be certain they were actually…." Sara sighed, stopping for a moment, before continuing. "I can't leave. If this is just an illusion in which I was so willing to fight anything that stood in my way, what's stopping Tornado from using me to _actually_ hurt everyone? We all know what she's capable of, and now...I know just how violent I truly am. What's stopping her from making me use these claws to kill everyone? My friends...my family." She said, looking down at the faux Static.

I shook my head before speaking. "Your mind." I said, and Sara looked up sadly, as if thinking that wasn't a good enough answer. "Your mind is your sanctum, Sara. Even if it is to be controlled by another, you will know that your actions are not of your own. Even if this were to happen," I said, gesturing to the carnage, "It wouldn't be your fault."

Sara stared down at a puddle of blood before her, in which she stared at her reflection for what seemed like a full minute, before she finally spoke up again. "I can't." She said as she continued to stare into the puddle. "I'm just a monster, and I don't even need to be here. I deserve to stay here while the rest of you save the world. I'm not needed, and if this is what I'm capable of, then I deserve to stay here."

We were both silent for a moment, with Sara deep in thought, while I continued to think of a way to get through to her. Finally, it came to me, and so I spoke.

"Jack still needs you."

Sara looked up in surprise, though didn't look like she wanted to believe it. "He brought you all this way with him, and for what reason would he do that? For your claws or the assassination techniques you mind possesses?" I shook my head as I continued. "No. He brought you here because you're _siblings_ , and you care for one another. Your presence gives him strength, and that is strength he needs if he is to stop Tornado. So please, if not for Pyrrhia or our friends, at least come out for Static."

Sara stared down at the pool of blood once more, then over at the false Static again, before nodding and standing up. "Alright. I...I'll do it." Sara said, and I smiled at her as a weak smile tugged on her mouth as well. "I forgive myself." And with that, we were brought back to the chamber, where the other four were waiting for us.

Six were freed, while three were still imprisoned by their minds and their fears. However, once they escaped, we would all be together once more, and we would face our greatest challenge yet. However, by making us face our fears, Tornado gave us one advantage over her.

We would not be afraid when we faced her.

 **Author's Note: …..heh. Pretty good chapter, huh? I definitely enjoyed it. Oh, and uh, with the whole Sahara x Tempest thing….yeah, I don't really know where that came from but...I like it. Be sure to tell me how you feel about it, because honestly...I did not plan that. It's just one of those ideas that comes to you and you're like "Yeah, that's pretty good." Anyway, thank you all so much for reading so far, for your support is great and awesome. Also, we are now in the final three chapters of the story, including the epilogue, which will be the longest chapter yet since there will be a** _ **lot**_ **to cover in that. So, with three chapters left to be written and posted, I must say once again thank you all for reading and supporting this story so far, and once again, the next chapter will be up next week.**


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

 _Singularity's Perspective…._

I had released a torrent of venom at my embodied fears, and once I had, I soon found myself in a strange central chamber of sorts, with five other familiar dragons surrounding me. Recognizing these dragons as my friends, I quickly rushed towards each of them, my scales turning yellow with joy at being able to see each of them again and that they were all fine.

" _Well, fine wouldn't be the best term."_ I thought to myself as I looked around. Sure, each of us had survived our trials, and even with the weak smiles given towards my hugs, I realized that we had all faced emotional trauma of some type, with many similar symptoms such as dried tears and bloodshot eyes scattered amongst our group. Either everyone had just eaten a lemon with a smokeberry, or they had faced trials similar to myself, if not worse.

Seeing Sara looking around nervously, I knew something was amiss. Looking around with her, I realized something I hadn't noticed when I first entered the chamber. "Where's Jack?" Sara asked, looking around still as if expecting him to appear any moment.

Asteroid shook her head and pointed towards the first grey gemed door, that of which Jack had gone through when we first arrived. The yellow drained from my scales, replaced by that of a faint white of fear. I quickly turned towards Asteroid. "He hasn't made it out yet?" I asked her, in which she shook her head.

"By the looks of things, Static, Pryope and Frostbite have yet to leave their chambers and defeat their fears. Pryope and Frostbite, from what we've heard from them, are more likely going to be more physical and will need good fighters from our group to release them, which is why we focused on breaking the rest of you out first. However, with Static….there is no way of knowing what he is going through, and who should go in to help him."

"I'll do it." Sara and I said simultaneously, though Sahara stood up and shook her head.

"That won't work." She said before looking towards Sara. "We need your help Sara with Frostbite, because you're one of our best fighters. Let Singularity go and free Static. If there is anyone that can get him free, I'm sure it is her."

Sara looked hesitant, meanwhile Tempest nodded and spoke up. "Teams of two must be together to face the threats of the minds. One of two, the other of three. Frostbite is to be more volatile, so Sara, Asteroid and Rivlet will go and search the ice. Myself and Sahara will go into Pryope's and search the sky while Singularity searches the storms for Static."

Rivlet looked surprised at this organization, speaking up quickly. "Wait, why am I going into Frostbite's fears? Wouldn't I be better in Pryope's, while Sahara would go into Frostbite's since it is more dangerous?"

Sara shook her head, understanding. "No, because we're only _assuming_ his mind is more violent compared to Pryope's. This way, we have a fighter in each group, that being me and Sahara, and a thinker, with you and Tempest, while Asteroid will also give us an advantage if Frostbite's visions are indeed more violent."

Rivlet looked satisfied by this answer, though still looked mildly uncertain when it came across experiencing Frostbite's fears. However, there was no time for worrying, and we all headed towards our respective doors. However, as I made my way to the grey door, Sara stood in front of me and placed her palm against my shoulder why looking directly into my eyes.

"Singularity, whatever you see in there, don't let it change anything about how you view Jack, okay? After everything he's gone through, and everything he has had to stand up against and not be afraid to ensure everything went right, for him to still be in there...it's probably worse than I can imagine. But if he were to lose you to his fears, he would give himself up completely. So please, remember that, and don't give up on him, alright?"

I looked at Sara, worried for a moment at what she had said. Could I really go against whatever Static was afraid of the most? He seemed so strong so often, that for him to still be facing what he feared the most seemed to scare me a little as well.

But I shook myself out of these thoughts and smiled softly at Sara. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen. I care too much for Static to let anything affect how I feel about him. And don't worry, he'll be fine and out of here with you once you get Frostbite out of his fears, okay?"

Sara smiled back at me, and gave me a small hug before walking over to the others who were at the white gate. "I understand why Jack likes you so much." She said, making my smile grow a bit more. "Just...be sure you both get out of there safe, alright?"

I nodded. "Same goes to you. I'm not sure Static would be pleased if he found out you got hurt while he was away." Sara grinned, and faced the doors with the others.

"Alright everyone, on three, place your palms against the doors. Once one of us has gone through, wait a few seconds or move aside once you go through, and then the next of us goes in as well. Alright, so one,"

My palm was held ready. I was going to save Static from his fears. Whatever he was up against, we would be able to face it together, I was sure of it.

"Two." Asteroid called out, with everyone tensing up once more, our palms edging towards the imprints on the doors.

"Three!" I placed my palm against the door along with Sahara and Asteroid, and the three of us teleported to the different fears, with the other three shortly behind the others. I knew I could save Static….

As long as I wasn't already too late.

 _Meanwhile, from Sara's point of view…_

Soon after Asteroid had placed her palm against the door and teleported, I did the same, following her. But my thoughts were not focused on the possible coming fight, but instead the conflict that was occurring in another of these horrid rooms.

I placed a lot of trust into Singularity, and I knew inside that she was the only person other than myself that I would trust to go after Jack. Maybe that's why the others had chosen her to go instead of myself, aside from my aid in the coming conflict.

However, I knew my brother well, and knew that Singularity might be in over her head when it came to putting a stop to whatever Jack's fear was. I could only hope that it wasn't that event that happened all those years ago, not for Singularity's sake, but for Jack's. He had no right to relive that moment again, and if I found out Tornado had in fact done that to him…

I would tear her heart out myself.

Finally arriving in the cold, snow covered ground of the illusioned north, I noticed just how quickly I was being thrown into the fight when Frostbite himself flew towards me, though not of his own volition. I quickly ducked to the side, and Frostbite hit the snow behind me, and my eyes widened as I saw his condition.

Rivlet teleported beside me as Frostbite struggled to get up. His left wing looked torn, and there were several cuts all across his body. He was panting from exhaustion as he tried to get up, with the snow turning blue underneath him slowly. Rivlet was quickly at his side, pulling out some of the medical supplies from his bag. He would at least be able to stop the bleeding, but until we got Frostbite to Singularity and her professional supplies, he would still be in a pretty critical condition.

"Sara, duck!" I heard Asteroid call out, and not giving a second to wonder why, I quickly lowered my body to the ground, with the sound of something quickly going over my head being followed. However, that wasn't whatever I was facing's only attack, and I soon felt the breath leave my lungs as I was hit hard against the chest and sent flying.

I managed to adjust myself midair and landed facing my new opponent, in which my eyes grew wide at what I was facing. In front of me was the largest dragon I had seen (aside from Tornado), for he easily staggered over me. He was an icewing, and after seeing several features that looked similar to those I recognized, I realized that this was more than likely an illusion of of someone related to Frostbite, more than likely his father.

However, aside from the few features and traits they shared, there were no other similarities between this dragon and the one that had been traveling with us that was growing to be a friend. This dragon looked like he could tear off my head at any moment, and the anger and pure hate in his eyes told me that he would find joy in doing just that. Like I had seen from Frostbite, he had several cuts and was slightly panting, though not as much as Frostbite was and it looked like his pain was just making him want to fight even more.

The dragon before me breathed inwards suddenly, and I had barely any time to hide behind a large thing of ice before a torrent of ice breath was shot in my direction. I cried out in pain as the breath his the edges of my wings, for I had never felt something that stinged with how cold it was in my entire life.

Once more, I was forced to leap from my position as the dragon's tail stuck itself into the ice where my head had been, the icicle like spikes stabbing into the ice with deadly force. I realized that whoever this was, he was an experienced fighter, and wasn't going to give me any breathing room as he kept attacking me again and again.

Thankfully, I wasn't the only one fighting him, and the dragon let out a scream of pain as flames raked across his scales from behind, where Asteroid was standing smugly. The dragon quickly turned around and breathed another torrent of ice, but Asteroid had seen this coming and had already moved out of the way.

As he was distracted, I jumped onto the dragon's back, my claws raking against his scales as I climbed in between his wings. As I stood there, attacking him from behind as he tried to get me off of him, I looked quickly towards Frostbite and Rivlet. Rivlet appeared to be explaining to Frostbite the situation, meanwhile Frostbite watched Asteroid and I fight the huge dragon. However, as I looked towards Frostbite, I saw something that I would never have expected to come from him.

Fear and worry.

 _Meanwhile, from Sahara's perspective…_

I quickly grabbed Tempest and jumped out of the way with her, a blast of flames fuming behind the two of us. I swore under my breath, hoping that the others were having better luck then we were.

The second we had teleported in, we were under attack by one of the worse possible dragons to be put into a fight against, even if she was just an illusion: Ex-Queen Scarlet. I had heard about her fighting skills, and how she had managed to kill all of her daughters that challenged her with little trouble at all. Of all the dragons for us to be put into a fight against, this was probably one of the most difficult for us to fight against, especially with all of our body parts still intact by the end.

Looking over towards Pryope, I soon realized she wouldn't be much help in the fight. Scarlet had done a number on her, with her looking emotionally and physically distraught. Red flowed across her orange scales, and I knew that if we didn't get her to Singularity soon, she would be in trouble. However, with the threat of Scarlet right in front of us, I realized that we would have to get out of here first.

With Tempest out of the way, I quickly turned towards Scarlet, but began speaking to Tempest as I squared off with her. "Tempest, I'll hold her off. You go and try to get Pryope up, and try to snap her out of this illusion so we can get out of here." I could tell Tempest nodded even though I wasn't watching her, due to how I was too busy with Scarlet lunging towards me.

I quickly hurled myself to the right, meanwhile my tail went straight forwards in an attempt to strike Scarlet head on with its deadly barb. However, the Scarlet illusion easily saw through this, in which she reflexingly used her wings to hurl herself towards me, and my eyes opened wide as she pinned me to the ground.

 _At that moment, from Tempest's perspective…_

Watching dismayed, I wanted with all my being to try and help Sahara as she was pinned underneath Scarlet. However, I knew the only real way to save her from the illusion was to break Pryope from the spell, and so I quickly went over to my captive friend.

She looked like she had seen better days, but still managed to give me a weak smile as I helped her off the floor, and I quickly broke the chains that held her down with swift blows with my tail. "I'm glad to see….that Scarlet wasn't able to get you two…" Pryope said. "But...how is saving me going to change anything?"

I shook my head at her questions. "The world of which our present selves are in is that of an illusion. This world, the stone around us, and the dragon of which is trying to dig her claws into Sahara are all apart of Tornado's tricks. These are only your fears, and we need you to realize this, for only you defeating them will release us of this place."

Pryope looked confused for a moment, and then what I had just said seemed to click inside her mind. "So...none of this is real?" She asked, still sounding a bit uncertain. I nodded, and her weak smile grew a tad more. "Alright then. That's...great. I'll help you and Sahara then. Besides...that illusion has a lot to make up for what she's done to me."

I was about to respond to her, but Sahara suddenly cried out, making Pryope and I look over to her in surprise and shock. Sahara had been clawed across the wing by the false Scarlet, who was licking her claws clean with a hint of joy in her faux eyes. As for any wounds on Scarlet, however, I soon noticed them closing up as soon as they appeared.

"Something's not right!" Sahara called out over to us, in which she began edging Scarlet over towards us so we could begin helping now that Pryope was ready to fight. "Every wound she gets from me seems to disappear. I think that…"

"Only wounds made by Frostbite will stay on him!" Sara yelled.

 _From Asteroid's eyes…_

We watched as all the wounds created by Sara and I seemed to vanish, our strong effort disappearing before our eyes. However, the wounds left by Frostbite were still there, and so we came to the obvious conclusion that only the dragon whose fears are embodied can stop them.

I muttered under my breath, though now with this realization, I felt a calmness come to me, with many futures where we died because we came to this conclusion too late now no longer being able to occur. I still had a feeling that things could still go bad if we didn't do anything though, so I quickly yelled towards the others.

"Sara, keep him distracted! Frostbite, I'm going to try and give you an opportunity to put an end to this, so be ready!" Frostbite nodded as he weakly put himself into a fighting position, the few bandages that Rivlet had put on him already being turned blue.

Sara however couldn't reply, as she was holding onto the back of the Icewing's neck as he tried everything to get her off, whether it be with beating her with his wings or slamming her into a wall. Even when this appeared to make her lose her grip several times, some of which she appeared to be in great pain through, she still somehow managed to stay on.

I knew she wouldn't be able to hold on forever though, and I quickly ran forwards, headed straight towards the towering Icewing. Flames edged at the corners of my mouth, and the Icewing saw this. Pure anger crossed his face, and with a sudden and quick opening of his wings, he sent Sara flying as he turned towards me, frost creeping out of the corners of his maw as we both opened and released our breaths.

Fire collided with ice, and I knew that since I didn't have a lot of practice with my fire, I would soon be overcome with the ice. However, this was the moment I had given Frostbite, and thankfully, he was taking it.

Right before the dragon's frost breath could overcome me, I leapt to the side, though hissed under my breath as a bit of frost hit my right wing. Spikes of ice formed where I once stood, and the dragon stopped his attack, noticing I was gone.

He had no time to look for me as his eyes suddenly grew wide and he let out a "Hrk!" sound, and he looked down, seeing Frostbite's talons dug into his chest with a defiant look in his eyes. Right before we were teleported back to the central chamber, the dragon grinned down at Frostbite and did a small nod, as if in approval.

 _Pryope's perspective moments ago…_

I forced myself off the ground, knowing it was time to fight. This was just a fake, horrible show created by Tornado and my mind, and I wasn't going to let any of it ever happen, especially if it put my new friends in danger.

However, I was running out of time already. I could see that Sahara was just barely able to dodge Scarlet's attacks, and even then she still was hit on occasion by a quick false swipe. Tempest looked like she was willing to join the fight as well, but knew that she would stand no chance against a monster like Scarlet.

There was one of us that could stand a chance against her, and that was myself. I had been studying Scarlet for years, and I knew every move she would take in a fight. Nothing about this illusion's tactics were different, and I knew that this would be my only chance, what with her being occupied by Sahara.

Rushing forwards, I let out a small plume of fames to get her attention. Noticing it, the false Scarlet rolled to the left, just like I had expected her to. Moving quickly, I jumped on top of her as she tried to get up, and I was met with a roar in defiance as she tried to force me off.

Sahara and Tempest watched as I dug my claws into Scarlet's sides, and she turned her head around, smoke coming out of her nose as she prepared to release fire upon my scales. I reached my hand forwards and grabbed her snout, holding it close. I lowered my gaze down to her and spoke quietly.

"If I ever get this chance with the real you one day, I will not hesitate to protect my friends and my queen." Her eyes glowed with anger as I finished her off, and suddenly felt the same strange feeling of being taken away somewhere as all three of us were brought to a strange chamber of sorts.

 _Several minutes ago, from Singularity's perspective…_

My senses returned to me, but something felt...off. My eyes opened, but things looked strange. My surroundings were that of things I had never seen before, with structures similar to the shelters the Nightwings had been building back in their village, but these structures were sturdier and covered in a cold white substance that I at least knew was snow, though I had never felt it before.

As I tried to get up, I fell back down into the cold white powder, which stung from how cold it was when it contacted with me. I looked down, and my eyes widened from what I saw. Before me were not my scales and claws, but that of skin and hands, like those of a scavenger.

I held my hands up to my face, looking at them closely. I opened and closed them in wonder, for I felt more with them than I had with my scales, and they were much more flexible as well. As I was staring at them, I felt something atop of my head fall down in front of my gaze, and blocking my vision was something colored with my favorite colors to make my scales, pinks and light purples.

Grabbing the substance, I pulled lightly to discover that it was connected to my head. I flinched, stopping when I realized that this was what it was like to have hair, and that's what was on top of my head. I brushed the hair aside, and continued to look at myself.

Thankfully, the illusion had given me clothes, or else I would have been quite cold, what with how sensitive skin appeared to be. I stared down, realizing I would now walk on two legs instead of four, and knew this was going to take some getting used to.

As much as I wanted to continue to examine myself and my changes, I knew that this was just an illusion, one created by Jack being deep in his fears. So, after a minute of struggling to get myself up, I looked around, trying to find Jack.

Snow continued to fall as I began dragging my feet through the thick snow. Even with the clothes, I held my arms to myself, trying to keep myself warm as I kept walking forwards. "Jack!" I yelled out into the snow, though I was met with no response.

I don't know how long I walked through the snow. I couldn't explain many of the things I saw as I kept moving. I fell several times, and every time the snow touched my skin, I cried out, for the cold was unforgiving against me.

But I kept moving forward. I knew Jack was out here somewhere, and I had to find him. I eventually felt myself begin to tire, and I soon remembered a fact that I heard from Rivlet when we were traveling.

 _"As resilient as scavengers are when it comes to survival, they aren't nearly as hardy as us dragons. Several can't live in the north since it gets too cold for their them, and they freeze up. They also can't live too long in the desert because…"_

I forced myself to keep moving. I knew now that not only was Jack in danger due to his fear, but now I too was in danger. If I didn't find him soon, I don't know how long I would last.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, and after I had been shouting his name for just as long, I saw a shape in the distance. It looked like a large white box, and it was much larger than I was. However, I wasn't interested in the box, but the huddled shape beside it.

"Jack!" I called out, pushing my legs even harder through the snow. As the figure wearily looked up, I could tell that, even though he looked nothing like how he did in Pyrrhia, it was him. He was the only living thing I had seen in this illusion as well, so I knew in my heart it had to be him.

He looked at me in confusion, and then realization hit his face as he stared up at me. "Singularity?" He weakly called out.

Tears began to fall from my face as I began to near him, a smile forming as I got closer. "Yes, it's me Jack. I've come to help you get out of…" I stopped short, finally getting close enough to see Jack fully.

Jack lay in a circle of red snow, and next to him, laying out from the large white box, was a large male scavenger who was unmoving. My eyes widened, and I looked towards Jack, connecting together pieces in my head. Jack could only look away from me, tears flowing out of his eyes, though unlike my tears, which were of happiness, these were tears of disappointment and sadness.

 _Jack's perspective, moments ago…_

I stared up in confusion. Standing several feet away from me was the most beautiful person I had seen in my life. She had green eyes like emeralds, and hair of pinks and purples that went down to her shoulders. Her face was beautiful, and when she called out to me, she spoke in a voice that I only knew from one other person I had ever met.

"Singularity?" I called out to her, though it was quieter then I had meant to. She nodded, tears coming out of her eyes as she began to approach. Fear racked my body as I looked towards the shape next to me, then back to Singularity.

I wanted to warn her. I wanted to stop her. But nothing came out of me as she got closer, and her voice stopped as she finally saw what I had done. I looked up at her, and I could see surprise, confusion, and the smallest and faintest trace of fear in her eyes.

Looking away from those eyes, I began to cry. The voice was right, and now Singularity knew. She would hate me for what I've done, and now, even though she somehow got to my world to find me, she would leave me as well.

The pain hurt worse than ever before, but stopped as Singularity began to speak. "Jack...did you..kill another person?" She asked. Tears continued to flow from me as I slowly nodded, knowing that this would be it any moment for the two of us.

Silence rained upon us with the snow for a moment, before I heard the sound of her walking through the snow. But instead of getting further away from me like I had thought, it got closer. I looked up to see Singularity standing right in front of me, before she let her legs give way and she fell right next to me.

"I'm sure that whatever happened, it wasn't your fault." She said, and my eyes went wide. "If this is what you were afraid of...of being judged for taking another's life, you have nothing to be afraid of."

Singularity took my hand in hers, and I could feel our cold skin begin to warm one another. "This is all fake Jack. It's an illusion created by Tornado. But even if it wasn't, I wouldn't care. I know you well enough that you would never do something like this without just cause. You're better than that."

Tears fell down my face as she leaned forwards and hugged me, holding on tight. "Please believe me Jack. We need you. _I_ need you. We still have to stop Tornado, and we can't do it without you."

Singularity pulled away from me, and I stared deep into her emerald green eyes. "I'll always love you Jack. So please, come back with me."

Tears fell down from my face. Memories of my travels flooded to me. Memories of the dragonets, memories of my friends, memories of Sara. Images of hardships, viewings of everything I had been through...I remembered everyone was relying on me. Everyone cared for me, and I cared for them just as much. I had to save them, and sitting in the blood of my mistakes wasn't going to change everything.

I nodded, and grabbed Singularity and kissed her. As all feelings were taken from me, with the world going white like when I had arrived, I remembered my mission. Right before I fully left, my hand turned into a fist.

No longer being afraid, I knew it was time to face, no, _stop_ Tornado once and for all.

 **Author's Note: Hey, another chapter, now with 2 official ones to go. What I mean by that is that after this chapter, we will have the finale and the epilogue, both of which at this rate are to be extended chapters with everything to cover. However, looking over the story, I realized that I can** _ **not**_ **end this story at 49 chapters. So, for the 50th chapter, I will write something that I figure will interest all of you...a possible continuation to the story. This chapter will be what the story will continue off of if I ever decide to write more of this story in the future. I still have several ideas for what that could be, of course. We could have Static tell his tales of the second arc, aka when Darkstalker shows up,** _ **or...**_ **we might have a story that occurs after Static's story is complete. I'm still unsure, though I will tell you that it will be a good way to continue the story should I continue it in the future, along with the fact that it will be a good way to end the story currently at** _ **50 whole chapters**_ **. I'm happy that I've gotten this story this far, what with all the work I've put into it, and I'm glad I'm finally going to be able to end a story for the first time. I will also write, either in the epilogue or 50th chapter, my thoughts I've had or have with this story and it's characters, basically going into a Q and A of sorts. But anyway, with all of that to look forwards to, I once more thank you all for reading this story. If it wasn't for your support, I wouldn't have written this much, and we'll finally get to see how this story ends together. So thank you all so much, and the next chapter will be up next week. (P.S. - Happy Valentines Day, or as I like to call it, lonely Wednesday! [I don't get out enough to not be alone on this day, especially since I'm writing/posting fanfiction rn...but this is much better than a date! (I think)]. Anyhow, my life aside, thanks for reading!)**


	48. Chapter 48

_Chapter 48_

 _In the central chamber, from Jack/Static's perspective…_

My eyes blinked open, and upon looking around, I saw I was in a large chamber of sorts. As the rest of my senses returned, I realized not only was I a dragon once more, but that I was also still clutching onto Singularity, only now my wings were atop of her, trying to pull her in close.

I took a moment to think. As much as I didn't want this moment to end, I knew I still had a job to do, and if we managed to save the world, then I could hug Singularity as much as I wanted to. So, after a moment, I let go, and just as hesitantly as I had, Singularity did the same a moment later, though she looked up at me smiling.

Smiling back at her for a moment, I looked around the room. The chamber loomed overhead, the stone being replaced by what looked like marble. There were nine doors on one side, each with a gem that I recognized as the gems from the entrance. On the other side, the chamber sloped downwards and created a single tunnel that was lit with several torches lit by lightning instead of fire.

However, I wasn't paying as much attention to the chamber as I was its occupants. I was immediately rushed into another hug by Sara, who gripped onto me tightly as the others made their way over to us. I smiled down at her sadly, glad to see her after everything we had both gone through, even if I didn't know the horrors she had been forced to face.

Sara however wasn't smiling, and instead pulled me into harder into the hug. "I'm...I'm so sorry Jack. My fears...I shouldn't have let them happen, but…"

I stopped her from continuing by speaking up. "Whatever you saw, whatever you did, it wasn't your fault Sara. Remember that. It's alright to be afraid, and you should remember those fears, that way you know to never let them come true, alright?" I asked.

Sara looked uncertain and still quite saddened, but nodded before letting go of the hug and stepping back. "Do you think we can talk about it?" She asked softly, and I nodded, knowing she would need help, because the expression of defeat on her face was one I had never seen from her before.

"Alright, we'll talk about it. Just give me a few moments, alright?" She nodded, in which I turned to the others. Many of them were smiling at me, though they all appeared to be in rough shape. Everyone appeared to be showing signs of distress, whether emotional or physical, and I watched sadly as Singularity pulled out her medical kit and began working on Frostbite and Pryope, who were looking the worse out of our group.

"So," I stated. "I take it everyone had problems with what Tornado did?" Everyone nodded, some looking sad, others looking upset. "I thought as much. But we can't let that discourage us. Tornado is more than likely up ahead, and I know we can defeat her. We need to stay strong and stay together, or else we can't defeat her."

Rivlet spoke up at this, trying to add to my words. "She's already thrown our worst fears at us, what else can she do besides killing us? And we have the number advantage, even if she knows we're coming."

Asteroid spoke up next. "Some of us may feel defeated by having to face such trials." She said softly, before looking up at every looking determined. "Let's not let our fears defeat us, for all of us have just defeated them. Let's use this as a strength, not as a weakness, to defeat Tornado!"

Pryope grinned lightly at everyone while Singularity applied a few bandages to her wings. "I may feel like I can hardly move, but I'm not about to let that stop me from fighting. Tornado must be stopped, not just so I can save my queen, but so I can make sure all of you stay safe as well."

"My wounds my be great as well," Frostbite said, "But everyone is depending on us, whether they know it or not. Tornado is a great threat; if she did this to us, she could do it to anyone that she believes might stand in her way. Anyone could be a target, and we must stop her, here and now."

Everyone now looked confident, even if they appeared to be greatly tired. Sahara looked down at her necklace sadly though, the only one not looking as inspired. "If only I could get this stupid necklace to work. Then everyone would be fine, and we would have a better chance at defeating Tornado. But, with everyone so hurt, can we really defeat someone as strong as her?"

As if summoned by her words, the necklace began to glow white, and after a moment, a large light surrounded all of us, blinding everyone momentarily. As the light disappeared, I looked around at everyone, with them doing the same, all of them looking surprised.

I felt energy coursing through me as I looked at everyone, who's wounds were suddenly healed. I felt better than I had in a while, with everyone looking the same while Sahara looked down in surprise at the necklace. "I really wish I knew how to control this…" she said, "But I'm really glad it decided to work now of all times."

Asteroid nodded at this. "Yes, that necklace's power could not have been better timed. However, we mustn't rely on it. If anyone gets too injured in the fight against Tornado, it is unlikely it will be able to heal us again."

" _You would be correct in that, seer."_ A voice suddenly echoed through the caves, making all of us get into battle positions as we looked around for the source. " _I can't believe I allowed my other self to give away such an important trinket, but then again, I haven't looked at that necklace in ages. I_ will _take back what is rightfully mine however."_

As Tornado's voice said this, the necklace around Sahara's neck disappeared, making her cry out in surprise as she looked around angrily. " _Now, what to do with you nine? You have become more troublesome than I could have ever imagined, and even after making all of you face your worst fears, you still just don't know how to give up."_

Tornado was silent for a second, all of us glaring towards the source, which was coming from the end of the tunnel. _"Fine then."_ Tornado said. _"I gave you all several chances. I gave you the opportunity to flee or die. You never listened. If you really want to stop me, come get me."_

When she said this, a large bolt of lightning struck the other end of the tunnel, lighting up a blue luminescent door. _"Don't keep me waiting now."_ Tornado said, her voice beginning to trail off. _"I do agree. It_ is _time to finish this, once and for all. I look forward to seeing all of you as corpses."_

With that, Tornado was gone, leaving us there amongst ourselves. I could tell that some of the uncertainty was back, but knew we had to press forwards. So I began to walk down the tunnel, headed for the door at the end. After a moment, Singularity and Sara followed, and with them came the others.

Uncertain of the fight ahead, we moved forward, knowing we had a fight to get done. Everyone, even all of us, depended on our victory, or else Tornado would destroy everything in her way. But we still moved forward anyway, even if we might die.

By putting us against our worst fears, Tornado had unknowingly gave us an advantage: we had nothing more to be afraid of. We had all shed tears or had our blood fall for her actions. We had all faced nightmares of one form or another. Even if she were to kill us, we would not be afraid.

As we walked, I went to Sara, who was staring at the door ahead of us with a fire in her eyes. I could tell she wanted revenge on Tornado from whatever she had seen, but, "You mustn't let your anger affect your fighting Sara. Tornado will just use it against you. We're all in this together, and I'm going to need your help to stop her. So please, tell me what you went through."

Sara's feet stopped for a moment, and she almost tripped before recovering herself. After a moment of hesitation, she began to speak, telling me the horrors she had witnessed in the fog, and what she had unknowingly done.

By the time she was finished, there were tears in her angry eyes. "She made me feel the pain of killing those I care about. I want her to feel that same pain, only instead of emotions, I want her to feel how those illusions felt when I cut through them." She growled.

I could only look at my sister sadly. This had been a fear of mine as well ever since I met up with Sara in this world. It was a violent world, and it had affected my sister greatly, even to the point where she noticed the problems that might create. This was also the reason why I knew she needed to go home, even if it meant saying goodbye forever.

While we walked, I bumped into her side, moving my tail around hers in a supportive manner I had seen other dragons do. She looked at me curiously, and I smiled sadly at her. "Sara, you would never hurt another that way. Even if you think you could, you wouldn't because you know the consequences. If you think back to the illusion, every death you caused was by accident, and not by your own choice."

"What I mean to say is, you can't let your anger control you, or you _will_ become a monster. That's why, once you get home, I need you to forget fighting, please. You've seen how it's affected you here, and I can't let that change who you were back home. So please, Sara, don't let the violence control you; don't let it destroy my sister."

Sara had gone silent, staring at the ground as we continued to get closer to the door. Finally, she spoke up, though was quiet. "Alright, I'll...I'll try to change. But...do you think you'll be able to help me?" She asked.

I smiled softly again at her, though this time I could feel my heart breaking behind the smile. "You know I will always support you Sara." I said, not giving a straight answer. Sara still accepted in though, and smiled back at me before walking again.

The rest of the time, we talked in silence, and I looked around at the rest of the group as we continued to near the door. Everyone was locked in their thoughts, I could tell, but they were also ready for the coming fight, with each of them wearing one determined look or another. I smiled at everyone, and thankfully it made most of them relax a bit as we finished making our way to the door.

As we stood in front of it, I could see it clearly, and saw that even though it was translucent, I could not see what was on the other side. Instead, all I saw when I tried to peer through was a black mist; sure, that could have been the other side, but something about it told me otherwise. It stood greatly over our group, looking like a grand entrance way to something fancy like back home.

I turned back to the others. "We don't know what's on the other side, but we do know that Tornado is expecting us." I told them. "Our chances of winning, I'll admit, are slim. But I know we can do it, because even with the faint chance of success, we still have something to work towards."

I then turned back to the door, sighing before I did so. "But...we can't rule out that some of us may die in the process as well. I've come to like all of you, and consider all of you my friends, and I know most of you feel the same about each other as well" I told them, making me look at them with a sad smile. "So don't make us have to see any of our friends die, okay?"

Everyone was silent, though let me knew they understood. I wouldn't expect anything else from them, for they were my friends, and they didn't want me to get upset when so close to something so important. "And, if this is goodbye, I want you all to know that I care for all of you, no matter what."

Before I could do anything, the others surrounded me, and we were all pulled into a hug. Much to my surprise, the two on the outside who had pulled everyone in was Frostbite and Pryope, each looking towards me with recognition in their eyes. "I lost too many friends fighting Scarlet to lose anymore now." Pryope said, pulling the others closer.

"And I lost many that I would like to consider friends in the war. While it wasn't easy, I do thank you Static for giving me...friends." Everyone agreed, and I felt a tear fall down my face. He was right...if it hadn't been for me, none of them would have met one another.

Since my time here, I could only think of the problems I had created while working to save my friends, while in truth many of my friends wouldn't be where they were without me. And I wasn't about to let them lose me, either, and so I hugged back against the others, knowing it wouldn't be our last.

After a moment, they let go, and one by one the others left the hug as well. I smiled at everyone, and they smiled back at me. No matter what happened, we were ready, because we were together for each other.

That's what friends are for, after all.

Turning to the door, I spoke up once more. "Thank you, all of you, for being my friends. When we get in there, we stop Tornado, once and for all, no matter what, okay? But just...keep yourselves safe as well."

The others nodded, and one by one walked by my side. Together, we stood in a large line in front of the door, with Sara and Singularity on either side of me. Then, all together, without even having to ask each other, we all pushed against the door, forcing it open.

After a little bit of pushing, we all let go, with the door swinging all the way open. On the other side was a large room, being white and empty save for a pile of unknown furs, a large shelf full of miscellaneous objects, and Tornado herself, who was standing at the other end of the room and looking at us with a smirk.

As we strode towards her, she began to speak up. "You know, they say the brain deteriorates as time goes on. That's why old dragons are stranger than the young, and act out randomly. Can't say I would hate such a thing to happen to me though, since in a way it's why I _exist_ after all."

We all stopped when we were still a good distance from her, that way she would have to move before she could get to us. However, as we stood before her, I realized just how _large_ she really was. She stood over us like at about four to five times our size, with her claws being as long as our necks. She was a bit imposing, being so large, but we all stood our ground.

"There's no need to bring conversation into this Tornado." I said, getting her attention. "We both know why we're here, and we both know you won't allow it. So, is there anything we should know before we stop your plans and finally put Storm to rest?"

Tornado glared down at me, though the smirk never left her face. "Ah, becoming a bit impatient, are you? I suppose it makes sense, since I _did_ make you have to relive that day of yours again." She said playfully, trying to make me angry enough to attack her. "But let me ask you something; If you fell down after killing someone threatening yours and your sister's life, how can you _ever_ expect to defeat someone like me?"

"Because I know that what I will be doing will be right." I said. "I did not know that man, nor his motives, but I do know you, and I know the consequences that will occur if you're not stopped. We all know this, and even if I'm not the one that finishes you, we will stop you."

Tornado glared down at us. "So be it." And with that, the battle for Pyrrhia began. _This would be a battle important to its history, though it would never be told; at least, not to many, and it would never be recorded except on this document._

 _Many who have read this tale up to this point might be expecting one thing or another to occur within this battle. Some might think that it leads to the perfect ending, where everyone lives, Tornado is stopped, and there are no more problems to the story's ending._

 _Not all stories can end happily._

 _However, everyone who reads this now also knows that their battle was successful, for the fire never rained upon Pyrrhia, and the threat of Tornado never emerged, even if many other threats did occur later._

 _Unfortunately though, not everyone would see the results of their victory, or at least, one of them would not. If someone were to learn of this tale soon after its conclusion, they would be able to hunt down all but one of the nine secret heroes of Pyrrhia. And if they were to ask these last eight what happened to them, they would act as if the whole story was false, for their story is kept secret for several reasons._

 _But the time for stalling is over. Those of you that are reading this are more than curious as to what might have happened in the battle, even if you have guesses towards who that ninth member was. As said before, the battle had finally begun._

Tornado lept towards us, making all of us have to scatter in fear of being pinned down and made an easy target. However, by making us scatter, Tornado unintentionally gave us an advantage, due to how we now surrounded her.

None of us gave her any time to recover, and we all leapt forth, trying to dig our ways through our scales. However, many of us were forced to jump back as Tornado swung her claws at us, while the others were realizing a problem.

"Her scales are too tough!" Sahara yelled out right before ducking under a large talon swung towards her. She was right though, in which any attacks we attempted with our claws bounced carelessly off of her scales.

"Then try to find another way!" I shouted out, before seeing Tornado make what appeared to be a breathing in motion. My eyes widened, and I grabbed those nearest me and attempted to push them out of the way. I was just in time to save Asteroid and Frostbite, for a giant wave of lightning passed where they had been standing just a moment ago.

I stared at the lightning, my eyes wide. There was enough power in each bolt to easily kill any of us that it touched, that is, if lightning had any affect on Sara or I. However, the others weren't immune to its affects, and I knew that they needed to avoid those bolts at all costs.

As Tornado's lightning finished, she turned her head to the others, who had kept busy. We watched in amazement as Tornado actually cried out in pain, before snapping her jaws towards Rivlet, who barely made it away in time while holding a large, grey scale in his claws.

"Her scales may be tough, but they can still be removed!" He yelled out, but yelped when Tornado grabbed him in one of her hands. As she began to squeeze the life out of Rivlet, she cried out once more in pain, dropping him as she instantly turned her head and blew lightning at her back.

Sara ignored the lightning as it bounced off her scales as she proceeded to yank out another scales, and then proceeded to stab down at the exposed flesh of Tornado with the scale. Tornado actually yelled out at this, feeling pain she hadn't felt in ages, before an expression none of us had seen before crossed her face.

True anger.

I had never seen a dragon or a person so angry in all of my life. If looks could kill, armies would have fallen from her glare. There was enough pure hate in that single stare to make all of us freeze for a moment, at least those of us that saw it.

" **That. Is.** _ **ENOUGH!"**_ Tornado roared out, sending a shockwave towards all of us, making us all fly backwards. At first, I couldn't explain what was happening, but then I realized she had just been toying with us before, and now that she was mad, she was going to use everything against us.

Including her animus magic.

I watched as everyone was pushed back away from Tornado, and before we could react, Tornado snapped her talons. Once she did, the room appeared to get darker, and I felt myself getting heavier, to the point where it felt like I could barely move. As I fell to the ground from the sheer weight, I looked to the others, seeing that they were having the same problem.

Tornado began to take a few steps in my direction. "All of you are _pests_ , and I'm going to enjoy killing all of you for the trouble you've caused me." As she said this, she reached her claws down and took ahold of me, holding me in a way that everyone could see me clearly.

"I'm going to enjoy this." Tornado said, looking at me with a glare. "You just couldn't back down, could you? Humans really are stupid, if you ever thought you could actually defeat me." Pulling up a single claw, she pressed it against my throat. I could feel the pressure of it digging in, threatening to cut through the softer scales while simultaneously beginning to choke me.

"As your life passes before your eyes, try to focus more on the _pain_ you're currently feeling. I want you to remember this after death if you can, that way you'll realize how foolish it was for a bunch of _pawns_ to challenge a _Queen._ "

I tried to struggle, but I couldn't, because I still wasn't able to move what with being weighed down by Tornado's spell. She was right though, for as I began to not be able to breath anymore, I began to see everything flash before my eyes. Remembering everything that happened, I knew I couldn't let this be the end, and that I had to do something, anything.

Thankfully, I was given an opportunity as Tornado cried out in pure pain, dropping me as she turned around. When I hit the ground, I realized Tornado was _screaming_ from whatever happened, and I tried to find the source.

Looking forwards, I saw Singularity, her fangs sticking out of her closed mouth, and Tornado, desperately using magic to remove the venom that had hit the exposed point of her scales.

Singularity gave a triumphant grin as Tornado turned towards her, the glare of hatred having returned. "I haven't felt pain like that in _years._ You think you're so smug, doing that?" Singularity stared up at Tornado, who began to move around her claws as if preparing something.

I continued to struggle to get up, to do anything, as a single black stone appeared in Tornado's claws. She waved it around for all of us to see. "See this stone? It's my favorite little enchantment. You see, once I put this stone on you, you'll feel all the pain you've ever gone through, and then the pain your ancestors have gone through, and then their ancestors...you get the point."

Watching in fear, none of us could do anything as she dropped the stone on Singularity. Her eyes shot wide open as the stone connected, landing and not moving from her scales. Singularity's scales turned white to the point she was almost blinding, and if she could scream, she would have, but the pain was too great.

Tornado turned back to my horrified face, a smug grin on hers. " _That's_ what happens to those that hurt me." She then reached down and grabbed me, putting her claw back to my neck. "Now where were we?" She asked.

My mouth struggled to open, and Tornado rolled her eyes. "I guess it would take all the fun out of it if I didn't hear you pleading for your life." Tornado said, then snapped her talons as the weight lifted from my mouth. "Now, what is it you wanted to say, worm?" She growled.

I glared back at her. "Forgive me Storm." I said, before releasing the most charged bolt of electricity I had ever created before, aimed right towards Tornado's confused and upset eyes. I had put all my strength into a single bolt, knowing it was all I would be able to release, and I felt extremely weak as it left me.

The bolt connected true, and Tornado cried out before dropping me once more. However, this time, I was able to land, the weight spell somehow disappearing. As Tornado kept screaming, I saw the others getting up as I rushed to Singularity. She continued to spasm on the ground, and I quickly hit the stone off of her, in which she she took a deep breath before fainting, though she was thankfully still breathing.

I sighed in relief, glad she was okay, before feeling my weight leave me as I was tossed into the air by an unseen force. I clawed at my neck, unable to breath again, as the force began to push downwards into it as I was held before Tornado again.

She glared at me, though it wasn't as powerful as before, because she only had one eye to do it with, the other being held behind her bloodied claws. "You….you think you're so great? I'll...I'll show you...what was that saying from your world?...an eye….for an eye, I think it is?"

My eyes opened wide as she swung a talon down. I quickly moved my head away, though I was barely too late, and cried out with the last of my breath as her claw hit against my right eye.

Blinking, I realized I could still see out of it, though I had to close it quickly as blood began to trail across my face. I was in so much pain...I had no more air….everything...was turning…..black….

I heard another screech of pain as I was dropped to the ground once more, though this time when I landed, I did not get back up.

 _Third Person Point of View_

As Static was held up before Tornado, the others tried desperately to do something, anything, they could to save him. Frostbite and Pryope tried breathing fire towards Tornado, but an invisible barrier stopped them as they were forced to flee, the ice and fire being sent right back at them.

Sahara tried to use her tail on the exposed point of Tornado, but was quickly grabbed by a large fur from the nearby pile, in which in trapped her underneath and unable to get out from its density.

Meanwhile, Rivlet turned to Asteroid. "That shelf, do you think it's her animus objects?" He asked her as Sara tried to charge headfirst at Tornado, who didn't give her a second glance as she flew across the room and was forced to join Sahara in her prison. "If so, do you think we could use one against her?"

Asteroid was panicking, trying to find the way to the only chance of victory they had, but everyone's thoughts in a panic and visions of gruesome deaths clouded her visions of saving Static. "Ye...Yes." She told Rivlet, before pointing to the shelf. "I'm not sure this will work, but we have to try. Go for that stick on the second shelf, third from the end." She said, before looking troubled. "We need either that or the shell on the fourth shelf, fifth from the end...I'm not sure."

"What do both do?" Rivlet cried out as they began to rush to the shelf. Right as they arrived, Static cried out, having just been attacked by Tornado.

"I DON'T KNOW, BUT WE HAVE TO TRY!" Asteroid called out, flying upwards as fast as she could. "Grab the stick, and point it at Tornado, quickly!"

Rivlet did as he was told, right as Static began to stop moving, in which Tornado turned to the shelf, looking upset again. "Only I am allowed to touch my animus collec…"

Tornado stopped short as she stared at Rivlet in horror as he pointed the stick at her, in which she fell over, her eyes beginning to glaze over. Rivlet looked down at the stick in horror, before dropping it and stepping away from it quickly.

Asteroid sighed in relief as Tornado landed, and Sara and Sahara burst free from the blankets. New visions were appearing...visions of doom disappearing...however, there were still decisions to be made, and someone else was still in danger…

"JACK!" Sara cried out, rushing to him. Tempest was already at his side, doing her best to try and patch his eye after making sure that Singularity was alright. Sara stood beside them as the others flew over, and she looked to Tempest with tears in her eyes. "Is...is he okay?"

Tempest nodded. "His eye will forever bring visions of what occured here today, but he'll still see the light of day, and will be with us tomorrow as well." Everyone breathed out in relief at this, as Jack/Static began to cough.

 _Jack's Perspective…_

My vision returned to me, and I looked groggily around at the others, my head pounding. Judging by their looks of relief and how everyone was standing, I was guessing, "We won, right?" I asked, looking at them, realizing my wounded eye was now bandaged.

Sara nodded as she hugged me, and began to cry. I hugged back, shushing her. "It's okay...it's alright now. It's...finally over." As I said this, I watched in surprise as a tearing sound occured, and everyone jumped away from Tornado's body as a strange, purple portal like the one I had seen her use before opened up. "Maybe I spoke too soon." I said as Sara and I got up.

As we watched the portal, a transparent dragon appeared before it, and I quickly got into a battle position as I recognized Tornado. However, I eased as I saw the friendly expression on their face, remembering Storm as a version of her stood before us.

" _Thank you, Static, for finally putting my soul to rest."_ She said to us. _"I know you and your friends were probably put to the test, stopping my other half, and I apologize for whatever any of you had to go through to put my body at rest once and for all, especially if you lost any. I just hope that this is not the case, and that you and your friends will all see tomorrow."_

" _I wish I could offer you payment, for everything you have done, but I sadly have nothing to give. I would give you my treasures, for they do have uses, but I'm afraid that those should best be forgotten, and I ask that you ensure that none ever be touched by talons nor hands ever again."_

" _Now, behind me is a portal back to your world."_ As the vision said this, everyone looked surprised, while Sara looked hopeful. I however, looked at it sadly as she continued. _"Once gone through, it will close soon after, and will destroy the entrance to this world along with it, so no one from your world may ever be taken again."_

" _I...apologize for taking you from your home as I did, though I am glad you made friends here during your time trying to help them and then to stop me. If not for you, I would have killed many, and my actions could never be forgiven. I thank you, Jack, and all of your friends, for finally putting me at peace, and for saving this world."_

As she finished, she began to disappear, before finally vanishing with the last word. As she did so, we all watched in amazement as Tornado's body began to cave in on itself. Standing back, we watched as the grey of her scales turned less solid, and after about five minutes of watching, all that remained of Tornado and Storm was a large thing of dust.

We stood there, all of us silent for a moment, before Sara breathed out. "I'm glad. She's at peace, Pyrrhia is safe, and now Jack and I can finally go home." She then turned to the others, beginning to thank them for everything, as I walked over to Singularity.

Her scales were no longer white, thankfully, and she was breathing peacefully. As I watched her sleep, the others began to hug Sara, telling her how they were also glad it was finally over, and how they would be sad to see her gone.

After this occuring for several minutes, Sara finally walked over to the portal, before turning to me, while I continued to sit next to Singularity. "Come on Jack! It's time! We're finally going home!"

After she had said this, I began to walk over slowly to Sara, my head bent down. "Come on Jack, lift your head up, we actually won! We're both still alive, and we can finally see mom and dad again! I'm sure that they've been worried sick about us after all this time and…"

Sara stopped talking as I quickly grabbed her in a hug, pulling her as tightly into me as I could, tears streaming down one side of my face. "Jack?..." Sara asked, wondering about me and if I was alright. I responded by pulling her even closer, not wanting to let go even though I knew I had to.

After a minute of this, Sara quietly spoke again. "...You're not coming back, are you?" She asked, sounding like she was crying now as well. I grabbed onto her harder, but she pushed me back with all of her strength, looking up at me with an angry expression on her face as tears fell down her face.

"Why Jack!? You know we have to go home! Our parents need us!" She cried out, but I could only look at her sadly. Her claws turned to fists as she rammed them into me, hitting my shoulders as she cried into my shoulder. "You can't stay here Jack! We need you back home! After everything you've gone through, you still want to stay here?!" She cried out.

I looked down at her, unable to cry anymore, for I had shed too many tears to be able to cry anymore that day. "Sara...I may have gone through a lot, I also met many who I consider friends. I've been happier here than I ever was back home. I even found someone to love...I can't just leave that behind." I said softly.

Sara glared up at me. "But you _have_ to! It may not seem fair, but you need to come home Jack! They need you home!" Sara pounded my shoulders again, before weakly saying, "I need you…"

A single tear fell down my face somehow, as I hugged Sara again, and she didn't fight back. "This may seem hard for you, but you know it's for the best Sara. You can't stay here...and I can't leave here. It may not seem fair, but it's time we finally said…. _goodbye._ " I nearly choked on the word myself, and Sara sobbed again.

The others were silent, watching us, some even crying as they remembered having to say goodbye to those they loved, whether or not they had known at the time it would be the last time they would see them. "You're right, our parents do need to see us again...but you'll just have to do as best you can yourself. I'm sure you can do it Sara...you've always been a strong girl, and you've always been a great sister at that."

Sara let out a final sob before looking up at Jack, who sadly smiled down at her. She looked away, not wanting to see his eyes, for she could see in them that he was right. "Can...can this not be goodbye?" Sara asked. I looked down at her confused, before letting her continue.

"Even if we may never see each other again, can we at least not say goodbye? I'd like to think that, maybe by not saying goodbye, that maybe we will see each other again someday."

I smiled at Sara, happy at the idea as I nodded. "Of course, Sara. This won't be goodbye. This is just...an extended absence. Until next time we meet, okay?"

Sara weakly nodded, before turning and taking a step towards the portal. "Until next time we meet. I'll think of you often, Jack...Static. You've been the best brother I could ask for, and I can't wait to see you again. And...take care of Singularity. She needs you as much as I do."

With that, Sara stepped through the portal, being whisked away back to their home. She would find herself in the forest nearby their house, right where the hole should have been. She would go home, finding her parents waiting for her, and would have a great reunion with them. She would claim amnesia, not remembering what had happened to her during the year of her absence, and told her parents she somehow knew that wherever Jack was, that he was happy and safe.

I watched the portal for several minutes, not knowing any of this, nor would I ever truly know this, though I would wish that something like that would occur, and was comforted by the fact that I somehow knew that it was.

After what seemed like forever, the portal closed, though I stood in that spot for a long time, just staring at it, my thoughts clouded and empty as the others rested. After a long time of staring, I began to think about myself.

Looking at myself, I realized I had changed so much, both physically and mentally. I was a bit larger than I had been when I arrived, having grown a little bit with my muscles growing mildly as well through constant use. My face now had a scar across its right side, going over my eye, though it wasn't deep enough to blind me. However, I was more focused on my mental changes.

When I arrived, I had been a pacifist, not wanting to hurt anyone unless it was my only option. Now...now I fought, tooth and claw, to defend myself, though I always tried to spare my opponents. I had changed without even realizing it, going from someone who hated violence to someone that blasted pure lightning into somebody's eye to blind and hurt them, even though it had been done to save myself.

I shook my head. I was going to change. It was about time I retired from these adventures anyway. I was going to ask Glory if I could live in the rainforest, that way I could ignore violence as much as possible. It would be good to try and remember what I used to be like, and this way, I could be even closer to Singularity.

Singularity. I turned to her still sleeping form, and smiled softly. I hoped the future would be good for us, and I could only hope that she would feel the same about finally putting these adventures behind us. I knew she would though, and I looked forward to expanding our relationship together in the future.

After what felt like a long time, I finally rested with the others. When we woke up, we began talking to each other about what we would do once we got out. I decided I would get us a feast, a celebration of sorts for our victory, and that we would all be able to rest as long as we needed to. The others were happy about this as I picked up Singularity and we all walked to the door together.

Imagine our surprise when, as soon as we went through the door, we found ourselves at the top of Jade mountain. Tsunami definitely seemed surprised as she fell backwards, not understanding how eight dragons suddenly appeared before her.

However, once she recognized me, she smiled brightly, throwing her wings around me in a hug. I hugged back as best I could with my wings, what with Singularity in my arms. Singularity was soon taken to a bed, where she would awaken several hours later confused as to where she was, then worried about me, but would immediately see me by her side, in which she would hug me and and we would cry together. I would explain everything to her, and she would be saddened and confused as to Sara leaving and why I didn't join her. She would be happy that I stayed with her, and we would kiss again, our relationship truly blossoming that day.

I would find the dragonets and tell them what happened. They would be worried about me and the others, of course, but they were also happy that we were alright. They were also fine with letting them stay at Jade Mountain, and Clay was overjoyed at being able to provide a feast.

After discussing with the dragonets and the others for an extended time over the feast, we decided to block up the tunnel to the entrance. It was covered with rocks and then sealed with dragon fire, making it look like it was a natural part of the cave as its secrets were forever sealed.

Everyone would be happy with one another during the feast. New friends created over our adventure would laugh together, and our journey would be forgotten even as it sat at the forefront of our minds. I would be surprised as Tempest kissed Sahara, and Sahara would kiss back, for it was something that I hadn't noticed occur between either of them. Their future, at the time, looked great.

As everyone laughed and ate together, I found myself on top of Jade Mountain once more, watching the sun on the horizon as it began to set. This was my world now, no matter what, and there was no going back. But remembering my friends, remembering Singularity...I would have it no other way.

 **Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed the extra length of this chapter. Sorry if some of it seems rushed, but there was a lot to go over in this chapter. Also, don't leave this story yet, because there is still the Epilogue, which is going to take place a few years from this current point. I promise most of you will enjoy it, because I have a lot of good ideas for it and several months worth of planning going into it. If you have any suggestions of anything you want to see though, post it or dm me and I'll see what I can do. Anyhow, I would like to thank all of you** _ **so much**_ **for your support. You're brought this story so far, and without your comments, whether they were small and just saying "Good chapter" or a paragraph telling me why you like this story, every single comment made me smile at least a little and made me want to work more on this. I thank you all for that, because together we were able to make this story, and I'm happy we did. So thank you all for your support, and the Epilogue will be posted next week.**


	49. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

 _Ten Years later..._

I put the quill down for a moment, wiping a tear from my eye. It had been so long since I had really thought of those events that brought me here, all those years ago, and yet it still feels like it happened just yesterday.

Staring down at the book I had written, I still couldn't believe it had been ten whole years since then. Even then, as I closed the cover of this first book, I knew there was still much more to be told. A lot had happened in these ten years, most of which occurring right after these events. I chuckled a bit, remembering the days where I couldn't seem to escape adventure, since it always found ways of dragging me back in.

Of course, those are other stories, and they'll have to wait another day to be told.

As I slide the book into place on my private shelf, stacked with scrolls trinkets that I had gathered over the years and deemed important, I felt my gaze shift upwards to a single drawing. I smiled as I stared at it, for it was the inspiration for me to write down my story after all these years, even if no one else might ever read it.

The drawing depicted the eight of us standing together, all of us smiling (even if it was just a little smile from Frostbite). We each had a similar drawing amongst all of us, which we had had commissioned shortly after our journey finished. Over the years, I would look at that drawing, remembering the days when we had first met.

All of us were still friends, thankfully, to this very day. Sure, we didn't get to talk much, with many of us having to be busy quite often. I mainly saw Tempest and Sahara nowadays, as they were the ones least burdened by work.

Thinking of the two, my eyes went over to the map of Pyrrhia that was on my wall, my gaze shifting to the Western edge of the desert, right next to the sea. I had marked a place on the coast there, for it was where the two had begun living with each other about half a year after our adventure.

Due to our journey, the two had formed a relationship of sorts that none of us had seen coming, especially not Tempest. Sahara would grin about it whenever it was mentioned, the fact that she was able to hide her feelings from everyone so well.

Anyhow, after admitting her true feelings to Tempest, things actually became a little complicated between the two for a while. In the end, it took Sahara nearly being killed for Tempest to finally love her back fully, and if she hadn't been there when she had...well, that's not my story to tell.

Once they both had feelings for one another, however, their relationship bloomed pretty fast. They even came to an arrangement of sorts, deciding to live on the Western coast. It made it easy for the both of them, with Tempest near the ocean and Sahara near the desert.

Having each other, they decided to live peacefully for a while, something I wished I could have done at the time, but now, looking back, was glad I hadn't. They each had a small job, of course. Tempest hunted pearls in the ocean, which was very easy for her because those waters had not been touched by other Seawings, meanwhile Sahara would use the pearls to make different creations, whether it be jewelry or just items decorated in pearls. Last I heard, they actually managed to make a necklace good enough that the Seawing Queen now wears it (though Sahara had to be the one to deliver it. Tempest still hasn't been able to get over her...reactions to seeing Seawings, though she can at least manage to look away now if she sees someone.)

The two of them were happy together though, and did still travel a bit due to their business. I occasionally see them when they come to the rainforest, since they always make sure to stop by. They don't always sell something here, but I make sure that whenever they visit to give them a new idea to try out, which they generally do.

I once made sure to visit their home, once when I was traveling through the desert, and it was fairly impressive. They had built it all by themselves, taking the time to drag trees all the way from the rainforest for it (though they were able to use the teleportation tunnel, it was still a lot of work). It was beautiful, being like one of those wooden beachfront cabins you would see on vacation flyers back on Earth.

With a beautiful home, a more than stable business, and a great love for one another, those two had been happy every time I met up with them, and all of us were happy for them.

Thinking of relationships, I turned my head to the Skywing kingdom on the map and grinned. Aw, Pryope and Frostbite, what would we ever do with those two…

Their relationship was a bit...trickier than most, and even today it was still questionable if the two were actually in a relationship or not. The rest of us secretly had a large bet going on as to if and when they would actually get together, and I always had to roll my eyes and give up whatever I bet at the end of the year when they _still_ hadn't publicly begun to see one another (never met two more stubborn dragons in my life).

This takes a bit of explanations. See, the two were almost _always_ around one another. This was for a few reasons, such as how Frostbite, going back to the Icewings, after confronting his father and the royalty, managed to somehow get the job as _"Icewing ambassador for the Skywings"._ This met that, while receiving orders from the Icewings, he worked on negotiations with the Skywings, which surprisingly, there were plenty, what with the two always looking to expand their territories, though nowadays their takes were more of trade notions, the two now being allies.

The reason Pryope was almost around him all the time was because, after returning to the Skywing kingdom and taking a heavy role in the Skywing royalty's guards, she was placed with a very important task: to be the guard of the Icewing ambassador.

Imagine their surprise when the two saw each other again that day. I don't have to, because I was there to ensure that Frostbite made it to the kingdom safely as a temporary guard (it was Frostbite's request, actually, to make me his guard at the time. He said that it was either me or some random stuck up Icewing, but I felt like he really just wanted a friend to take to at the time).

Anyhow, when the two saw each other, they both looked very surprised. Those expressions of surprise grew when Queen Ruby announced that Pryope would be Frostbite's guard. I feel like she did it, remembering the two had a history, and thought it would be perfect.

Yeah...perfect isn't how I would describe those first few weeks, which I was also there for just to ensure everything would be fine, and I was happy to see two of my friends again. The two would almost constantly be bickering at one another whenever they were alone, and when in public kept it to the occasional glare.

I of course proceeded to tease them about how it was fate drawing the two together and that their relationship was sure to flourish. Yeah...I had to finally go home what with all the injuries I received from the two. Nothing permanent, mind, but those two together make a force to be reckoned with.

However, after a little while, the two began to at least get along better, and eventually decided that if they were to almost always be in the same place, they ought to at least make the best of the situation. Shortly after that, the two became good friends.

Excellerate their relationship a few years forward, and the two can actually be seen going on what most would describe as dates, but as to what they like to refer to as "friendly outings". They refused to acknowledge that they were in an actual relationship together, and I felt like they would until one of them finally pops the question to the other of making their love official.

The reason I keep betting with the others that that would occur sometime within a year, every year for the last four, was because of an incident that occured a while back. You see, Pryope got injured one day by….falling down stairs. Yes, definitely, one hundred percent stairs, and nothing else, for if anything else was to be asked by Pryope as to how she got injured, she would feign ignorance to the point that she would pretend she doesn't speak the same language. I am the only other person that knows what actually happened, but I'm not about to reveal those events, as they aren't my secrets to give.

So, with Pryope injured and me being the only dragon there, I quickly took her to get medical attention. Long story short, she was given a few smokeberries to numb the pain, and to this day I refuse to even touch the berries with the things it makes a dragon see or say, as Pryope was talking to me the entire time we waited for her to be able to leave.

Anyhow, Pryope began to talk to me about Frostbite (among other things I wish I could forget) and their relationship. Sure, it could have just been the smokeberries, and I'm starting to believe this at this point, but she told me how she just wished Frostbite would kiss her already and make their love a real thing (and then she went into details I still can't forget).

Eventually Frostbite appeared to pick her up, but she thankfully had stopped talking, probably focused on strange visions, with the only sign of something strange being that she giggled when Frostbite picked her up. Pryope was then given recovery leave and Frostbite had a temporary new guard, and the incident hasn't been spoken of since.

With the fact that Pryope wanted their relationship to extend then, I began thinking she would then finally grow bored and finally talk to Frostbite about it. I was clearly wrong, and they still haven't admitted their feelings yet to one another.

A few of us felt a little bad, knowing they still hadn't gotten together yet, but I smiled, remembering the plan I had been forming the last few months while I was busy writing my story.

See, every year we ensure to have a get together, our whole group that is, and every year someone else hosts. This year is Pryope's turn to host, and she already has this whole plan of clearing out the guard barracks for one night and turning it into a place where we can party.

My plan is, if they still haven't told each other how they feel, is to drag Frostbite off to one side, meanwhile have Singularity drag off Pryope. We'll both ask them how they feel and why they haven't gone further, and then try to get them to finally tell the other how they feel.

Singularity loves the plan, thinking it foolproof. I on the other hand believe we have a fifty/fifty chance, with either chance ending up with them together, though one chance is more difficult than the other. Chance one is that they end up together easily, finally admitting their feelings.

Chance two is the one that worries me, as it happened all the time on tv back home. They would begin trying to admit their feelings or one would refuse to admit feelings for fear of rejection, which causes more problems likely ending up with the two separating for a bit, just to finally realize how they were acting and to finally apologize and then end up together.

Knowing how stubborn the two are, chance two is most likely inevitable.

Rolling my eyes, I turned away from the map, knowing that I still had around a month to plan ahead for that, and to try and lessen the extent of the events that are sure to happen. With this thought in mind, I instead focussed on several other papers I had written up.

In my spare time, when I wasn't writing or doing an odd task for a friend, I found myself either researching things in the rainforest that hadn't already been studied, or trying to remember what I had learned of science back from my old and trying to write it down, after proving it still applied of course.

However, this doesn't make me a scientist. No, I couldn't stand all the time it would take to do all the actual testing or the equations and such. What I did collect went to Rivlet, who had become an actual scientist a few years after our journey. I was more of a data collector, and he would take the data and study it, and then work upon it.

You see, once our journey was complete, Rivlet wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to do now. He didn't want to go home, deeming he had stayed there for far too long. He then began to travel Pyrrhia for two years, doing small studies of the dragon tribes and trying to find a place he felt he belonged while he did.

At the end of those two years, Rivlet had come to visit me one day, wanting to know what he could about the Nightwings and Rainwings. After he had finished talking to Singularity, I took him to Starflight, since the flight from the rainforest to the school wasn't that long.

When we got there, Starflight and Rivlet really got into their conversation, with Rivlet going over everything he had discovered. After a while, Starflight asked why he didn't become a full time scientist, since Pyrrhia didn't have that much actually studied in terms of science.

Rivlet heavily wanted to, but had no idea where to start, only having the research he had collected as proof he _could_ be a scientist. That's when Starflight and I had an idea: Rivlet could become the first science teacher at the Jade mountain school. While he taught the students, he'd be able to teach them everything that was already known, such as how mudwings are able to hold their breaths for so long, while he continued to learn more of the unknown sciences, such as how the smokeberries create such strange visions through their toxins instead of just poisoning a dragon.

However, since he was usually busy in the school, Rivlet had little time to actually explore and study. That's where I came in, at least for a bit, which I'll also explain. I decided to help Rivlet by writing down anything I could remember or anything I found while in the rainforest, such as samples from plants and notes, and then gave them to him so he could expand upon it.

This went on for a few years, with me giving Rivlet anything I could when I was able to, until one day something changed. Three of Rivlet's students who had graduated the school went to Rivlet, wanting to become assistants. He happily agreed, and they were able to lessen Rivlet's workload and heighten their search into science. Last I checked, they were almost done figuring out the genetic differences in the dragon tribes, such as how Sandwings were able to evolve with a poisonous barb on the end of their tails while Skywings just had larger wings instead.

I still helped out occasionally of course, since sometimes I would remember a random fact from school that might be good enough for them to study. I even gave them the biggest question of all: how does a dragon fly when being so heavy, even with such a large wingspan? They still haven't fully figured it out yet, though one of the assistants believes that dragons might have hollow but strong bones, which would make them lighter. Another just believes that some other force might be at play, such as whatever creates animus magic (which is another mystery they haven't even come close to figuring out).

But still, with his career still expanding, Rivlet was happy, and was making new advancements in this world's science almost every day. What I mentioned might not sound like much, but it has actually affected society majorly. For example, with his research into smokeberries, Rivlet was able to create a medicine like that of painkillers, but without the nasty visions and other affects it would bring.

I smiled, rolling up the notes and placing them out front in a box outside of my home, where they would be taken by a mail dragon later to Rivlet. My smile stayed as I stared at the box, one of the small but important things I had brought to this world. With a better mail system, the dragon tribes had never been closer, with letters between tribes being sent around Pyrrhia every minute.

Walking back inside, I went over to what would be considered a living room, with several hammocks laying about that could be sat in. Singularity and I had built this house, with the aid of some of our friends, and we had built a mix of human and Rainwing architecture, and we were both pleased with the results. It was more than likely one of the largest homes in the trees, aside from Glory's, of course.

Going into the room, I went over to a back of supplies, ensuring that everything that needed to be in there was there and fully ready to be taken to its destination. This bag was full of food, medicine, and other survival supplies one might use in everyday life.

This bag was to be sent to Asteroid and her sister as a form of care package, though they didn't really need it. Even so, I was more than happy to aid the two, as Asteroid was my friend, and I had become friends with Comet after meeting her.

Once our adventure finished, Asteroid immediately began the search for her sister. With her abilities and several friends to help her, she was able to find the spot her sister had told her she was at within a month.

Asteroid left immediately, wanting to reunite with her sister again. However, once she arrived at that spot, she only found traces of a dragon having been there, and no signs that her sister still was there anymore.

Not wanting to panic and think that Tornado had moved her to somewhere else, Asteroid stayed hopeful, and stayed at that spot until her sister appeared again. I would have helped her or brought her supplies at least to aid her, but I was unfortunately busy with troubles at the Jade Mountain school, which already had problems within its first week of opening.

Those problems (and a whole other adventure) aside, Asteroid stayed there for almost a month, not losing faith that her sister would return, in which she finally did. While idly messing with a small puddle, Asteroid heard thoughts for the first time in a while. However, unlike the rare voices of traveling dragons, this voice was alone, and was familiar.

Her sister burst through several trees opposite of her, sighing in relief upon finally returning to a familiar sight, as she still had no remembrance of any past memories. However, she soon realized that something was amiss, as she heard excited thoughts nearby. Asteroid, knowing her sister knew she was there, revealed herself.

At first, her sister wanted to run, but then after hearing the word "sister" from Asteroid's mind, Comet became curious. The two began to talk, and Asteroid proved that Comet was her sister by showing her memories of the two of them together. After that, the two embraced, both crying for finally reuniting with one another, even if Comet couldn't remember anything.

From there, the two came to the rainforest, where Comet was able to get medicine for her wounded head, even if it didn't aid in bringing back her memories. However, the two didn't stay long, for they weren't well accepted with their tribe, who at the time was against other Nightwings who hadn't lived on the volcano.

The two still live in the rainforest, of course, but were two of the few allowed to live with the Rainwings, even if they chose to live on the ground below instead of in the trees. I got to see them often, and became quick friends with Comet. Even though she had no memories, she apparently still had her same personality, and that was all Asteroid needed.

Fast forward to now, Asteroid and Comet are both happy. Comet never really regained her memories, but the two are so close as sisters that needing the memories isn't even necessary by this point. They've integrated back into the Nightwing tribe since, due to how they've calmed down, but currently they don't plan on staying long.

The reason for the bag of supplies I had packed for them was that they finally decided it was time to find their mother. Even if she wasn't alive by this point, the two wanted to find her, or at least what happened to her, just so they could finally learn the truth. It would be a long journey, with them traveling all over Pyrrhia, maybe even past it, to try and find her, and I was willing to give them as much help as possible.

Satisfied that everything I believed they might need was packed, I made a mental note to deliver it to them as soon as possible. With that taken care of, I went back to my study, which was where I had been writing for so long.

Walking over and behind my desk, I sat down on the soft fur behind it, before looking over at the book. I had put so much time and effort into it, trying to remember everything and even asking the others from time to time to fill in the gaps I couldn't. However, there was one dragon I could never forget, even after all these years: Sara.

I sighed, staring up at the leaf roof of my study. After all these years, I refused to forget my sister and the memories we had shared. Wherever she was now, back home, I knew she was doing the same…

 _Sara's Perspective…_

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I sighed, before tugging on the rope to be lifted back up. As I began to ascend, memories of flying through the sky filled my vision, as they often did, and I felt a small frown tug on my face, remembering those events again.

Thanking my co-worker, I walked past him and over to the station we had created, placing down the notes I had taken and looking at the ones that he had made. Since that time when I returned ten years ago, I decided to change my interests, and became obsessed with archeology. The reason: I wanted to find a way back to Jack.

Even as I learned about hieroglyphics and ancient languages, and the media obsessed with me for a week over the fact of a missing child reappearing a year after their disappearance, my thoughts never strayed from Jack and the others. Sure, since returning I had become more docile (though that didn't stop me from almost breaking the hand of a jock who tried to grab me), in which Jack was right that I needed to return home, it just didn't feel right without him here.

After going to college and getting a degree, I began to plunge into the research of dragons and the myths or legends they were involved in, along with ancient caves and ruins to try and find anything like what had brought Jack and I to Pyrrhia.

So far, I had no to little success, though I had made several discoveries in my ten years that made me one of the most famous young archeologists of my time. I even almost considered retiring after a find of an ancient temple almost set me for life, but I knew I couldn't stop, what with Jack still waiting for me to reunite.

I sighed, knowing Jack wouldn't want me to keep searching for him like this, and that he would want me to be happy instead. But there was still a part of me that couldn't be happy until I saw him again, even if I had to keep searching for a few more years. Of course, archeology made me happy as well, especially with it making me rich and all.

With that wealth, all those years ago, an empty hole in my heart, and nobody I had really fallen for, I decided to adopt. It was a bit of a...rash decision, one that I wasn't entirely certain about at the time, but over the last few years I was happy that I decided to.

I adopted a brother and sister, at the time of six and eight, now of ten and twelve, with the brother being the older of the two. They were extremely protective of one another, and refused to leave the orphanage without the other. They reminded me so much of how Jack and I treated each other that I chose them without hesitation.

When they learned who I was, they grew excited, and were fascinated by all the sights I had seen and everything I had discovered. My adventures settled down with them for a bit, with me taking the time to learn to raise two children by myself. However, I still wanted to find Jack, and so I began exploring once more.

I took the two with me on several of my trips, and they loved being able to travel. However, I usually kept them in hotels or rental homes while I explored, though if I found something I deemed safe enough for them to join me on, they were more than happy to join me.

We had grown to love each other, our strange adventurous family, and I was happy. However, one day, my son asked me why I wasn't happy, and what I was searching for. This through me off, and I asked him what he meant. He told me there was something in my eyes, every time I smiled, as if I wasn't truly happy, and if there was anything he could do to help.

To this day, I have never met anyone else that could tell how I was truly feeling like that, aside from Asteroid who could read my mind, and that mildly frightened me, though now that fear has turned to pride for my son. I told him not to worry about it, that it something to do with his uncle.

This led to him asking who his uncle was. I froze up, not knowing what to say. Memories of Jack flashed before my eyes, before I shook my head and gave a sad smile to my son. I told him I wanted to tell him and his sister a story, and so we went to the living room, got my daughter, and I began to talk.

I told them of a land of dragons, a continent shaped strangely to a dragon, where different dragons lived. I told them of the conflicts of this land, and the dragons themselves that lived there. I told them of my brother, who was in this land of dragons.

I told them about how I wanted to find a way back to this land.

At the time, they loved the story, and they still do to this day, though now my son, having grown and still learning more, is doubtful to the existence of Pyrrhia. I told him that was fine, and to choose what stories he wanted to believe in. I however would keep believing, because I knew my brother was out there, somewhere.

As I look up into the blue sky, I can feel that Jack might be doing the same, there in Pyrrhia. I know he is happy, like I am. He might even have children of his own now, if he was ever brave enough to talk to Singularity about that. I grinned, looking forward to seeing them again.

With more work ahead of me, and my children waiting for me back at the hotel, I decided to carry on working, knowing I still had much more work to do.

 _Static's Perspective at that time..._

I looked down, interrupted from my thoughts, as I hear the sounds of dragons entering my home. With three sets of walking, two of which moving towards my room quickly, I prepared myself, knowing I was about to be ambushed.

A smile took ahold of my face as I let my wings out, right as my two children jumped into me for a hug, which I easily accepted and returned. I looked down at the two, who were each almost four years old now. We shared smile as they laughed, saying hello to me excitedly after getting back from suntime.

My children were hybrids, of course, of ancient Skywings (myself) and Rainwings (Singularity). They were both beautiful, with Singularity's genes and my own creating something that could never be described, though I will attempt to. They still had color shifting scales like a Rainwing, though they still had the cloud patterns that shifted across their scales. These clouds were like rainbows, always shifting colors as they passed across their scales. They could still fully camouflage themselves, but whenever they didn't focus on the colors of their scales, the clouds turned into any colors they pleased.

They also had my horns, though they were a bit more rounded on the edges. They also had a less curled tail then most Rainwings, and the spikes along their necks and backs were in the middle range of length, due to how mine were long and Singularity's were short. They had large wings as well, though weren't expected to get as large as mine.

Like I said, I had two of them, with the first hatched by a minute being my daughter, Panda. I named her that due to how she had two clouds that didn't move over her eyes, and even though constantly shifting colors, reminded me of a panda. She was very shy, though loved to express herself to those she did know, and had a fierce rivalry with her brother. She also loved the moons, taking after her mother's love of the night sky, and was fascinated with scavengers after my stories about them from back home.

My son's name was Caiman (for those of you that don't know, that is a type of rainforest gator). He was named that due to how, when he hatched, he was constantly trying to chew on _everything_. He is slightly larger than his sister, but just barely, with his main characteristic being a single grey scale under his eye, like a fallen tear. This got several questions from Nightwings, wondering if _somehow_ he had mind reading, but he didn't, and it was just a physical trait.

Caiman was adventurous, having loved learning of my adventures here in Pyrrhia, and wanted to have adventures of his own one day, no matter how often I told him to be careful what he wishes for. He loves the day, actually, compared to the night, due to all the life that can be found during it, whether it be large or small. The only thing he shared with his sister was their fascination with stories from back home, and he was curious if scavengers here were the same, which was a mild curiosity I held, even if I had held conversations with some.

Like I had said though, the two had just come back from sun time. Unlike most Rainwings, they didn't _need_ sun time, though they still loved it, both enjoying the feel of the sun on their backs, and it did seem to make their colors brighter, if not give them more energy.

After saying hello to the two, I made my way over to Singularity, and the two of us embraced with each other for a moment before talking to each other and plans for the rest of the day. Singularity was planning on checking by the medical hut, which she still worked at, and asked if I could watch the two for a bit. I agreed, happy to do so, and she flew off. I sighed, knowing I couldn't wait to see her later again that day.

Going to the living area, I saw Panda fiddling with a scroll and Caiman bouncing around her, wanting to do something exciting with her while she rolled her eyes. I smiled at the two, reminded of my sister and I, and decided it was an appropriate time.

Walking to my work room, I grabbed the book from the shelf and walked back over to the two. "Do you two want to hear another story?" I asked, immediately getting both of their interests. They instantly agreed, and with a wave of my wing, they went to their separate hammocks, while I sat in front of them.

"This story is different from the others, for it is _my_ first story. My very first adventure." I told them, and the excitement was evident in both of their eyes. "This is the story about how I came here, to Pyrrhia. In this story, I managed to bring some of the peace you see today, though it was not all my doing. This is also the story of how I met your mother, and how we fell in love. Some of this isn't happy, and other parts are exciting, but know it is all true, and try to learn from it, okay?" I asked.

The two quickly agreed, and I smiled as I looked down at the book, with the title in silver ink. _"Lightning Striking"_ it read, and I opened the cover. " _I have read many stories in my life so far that involve some form of hero, whether they were meant to be that hero or not, come and save the day. When I read these stories, I have the thoughts like everyone else that I wish I could be like them, that I could have some of the characteristics that make them a hero, to be the one that ends up saving the day. I never expected that wish to come true, because I mean, who would?"_

" _However, in it's own way, it did. This_ was _my story, I guess. You might want to get comfortable, 'cause this is going to be a long one…"_

 **Author's Note: *** _ **Shudders***_ **Man, my old writing style was horrible. Glad I improved, though I really need to edit those old chapters in the future. Eh...I'm sure I'll get around to it.**

 **Anyway, here we are, the end of the story. Months and weeks, almost a year by now, and this story is finally finishing. It's funny, in a way, cause it really does only feel like yesterday I decided to try giving myself another shot at writing a WoF fanfiction, and now I'm glad I did. I never really expected this story to get so popular, with currently 46 favorites and 52 follows, and honestly? Those numbers still don't matter. I want to thank you all, more so now than ever, for reading and supporting this story. I am so glad I was able to write a story that not only** _ **I**_ **was able to enjoy, but that all of you wanted and liked to read as well. This story did much more than it was ever supposed to, such as becoming one of the longest stories for WoF on the website, or becoming so loved by you, the readers. So...thank you. All of you. For everything.**

 **Now, this isn't the last thing I'm going to write, including for this story. Next week I will post a continuation chapter, which will show where the story will be going if I choose to ever continue it in the future, which I might. However, note that if I do choose to continue, it probably won't have the same update speed on chapters as it did now. Also, in this chapter I will be posting next week, I will be talking a bit longer, answering any questions you might have about the story, so be sure to ask. I'll also talk about some of the things I noticed, and past questions I've been asked as well. Also, I have here several drawings that great people drew, and if any of them are reading this, thank you all for taking the time and effort to make these.**

 **/a/FszbW**

 **/a/Do7T6**

 **/a/y5ruE**

 **/a/bnD20**

 **(Hope these links work, and if not, I'll try again)**

 **Aside from that, there is nothing else, and in a way, this lightning storm has finally passed.**

 **Until the next storm then.**


	50. To Be Continued

_Wings of Fire: Lighting Striking_

 _The Story Could Continue in WoF: Balance_

 _Prologue_

 _A lone brother and sister begin to look around excitedly, having been brought to yet another one of their adopted mother's discoveries. The boy, of twelve, and the girl, of ten, are fascinated with the sights. With their mother right beside them, leading them around, they become giddy with excitement, wondering if their own adventure will soon unfold._

 _The boy's name is Ben, short for Benjamin. He is growing well for his age, and will show great promise in sports in a few years. His hair, a shorter cut dirty blonde, occasionally gets in the way of his bright blue eyes. He is very energetic, but is also very booksmart, taking as much time playing as he does reading._

 _His sister's name is Athena, and with such a fiery name came a fiery personality. Athena, like her adopted mother in her younger years, held a temper, and would be ready for a brawl to those that annoyed her, which usually fell to her brother who was usually just trying to look out for her. She was still caring though, and enjoyed much of the softer things in life, such as flowers and other parts of the natural words. Her longer, brighter blonde hair covers her unusually grey eyes, covering the beautiful fire within._

 _The two care deeply for each other, even if they occasionally argue, as they were all they had for several years. Neither knew the truth of why their parents disappeared years ago, and due to self-reliance, the two normally turned away every group of parents that approached them, only thinking they would need each other to survive._

 _That all changed when their new guardian, Sara, arrived. Her now longer brown hair was always pulled back with her professional yet still dirty looking clothing showing that she was now a playful young woman who could still be serious at a moment's notice._

 _Ben and Athena had already heard of the woman before, of course, but only after a moment in the papers. She was a rising archeologist, and had found two major discoveries in her first few years as an archeologist, which was almost unheard of in modern day discoveries. With many considering her a real life_ "Tomb Raider" _, many also questioned how she was able to find so many unsearched ruins, some even claiming forgery. However, everything had been proven by professionals to be real, making her so rich that she could retire at the young age of twenty two._

 _So everyone was surprised the day she walked casually into the orphanage, looking around and observing the children. Whenever she would look towards Ben and Athena, they would hide around the corner, trying to hide their fascination with the woman while still trying to see what she was doing._

 _After several minutes, the two watched her walk away, and let their guard at ease. They talked to each other, wondering why such a famous woman would be wondering around their halls. However, even with their fascination, the two were still firm in their beliefs of not needing anyone, and decided that even if she was famous, that was no reason to give up their beliefs._

 _As they turned around to go and hide somewhere else, they were shocked to find Sara kneeling down in front of them, having been watching the two talk to each other about themselves and what they thought of her. After recovering, the two noticed the small smile on Sara's face as she held her hand up for them to shake._

 _The two weren't certain what to do as Sara introduced herself and asked for their names. Nobody had treated the two like adults before, and so with a moment's hesitation, the two shook and told her their names. Sara smiled again at the two, though Ben noticed that there was something...missing from her smile, even if it wasn't that large._

 _She asked the two if they would like to talk for a bit, if they didn't mind. With Athena quickly asking why, the two were confused as Sara lightly chuckled, and told them she just wanted a conversation, and that was all. After a moment, the two agreed, before leading Sara to a table to the side._

 _Sara smiled at the two again as they sat, being reminded of her brother and herself when they were younger. And so, true to her word, all the group of three did was talk. They told each other about themselves, such as their personal interests and things they thought were interesting. Sara was also not afraid to boast, much to the children's amusement, as she told them of different adventures she had been on._

 _Finally, as the day turned to night and the orphanage prepared to close within an hour, Sara finished the story of how she found her last ruin. "It was pure luck really." She told them. "I'm surprised nobody else had followed that map in that book, or that they hadn't released the location more publicly so they could get the glory of discovering it. Aw well, shucks for them." She said, grinning as the children did the same._

 _As they did so, Sara looked outside, her eyes widening at the fact that it was already dark. "Well would you look at that…" She trailed off, before turning to the children, who were also surprised by the time. They had never taken so long talking before, especially so casually to someone that was essentially a stranger._

 _Sara suddenly sat up straight, and looked at the children more seriously. "Alright you two, I know you both know that I didn't just come here to say hello to some kids. I think you are both aware that I'm interested in adopting you." She told them, and with some hesitation, they nodded._

 _Sara bobbed her head as well. "Now, I can see with your hesitation that you're not sure if you_ want _to be adopted, since you think you only need each other, right?" Once again, the children nodded. "That's what I thought. So here's what I'm going to suggest. How about I adopt you, together, and you two can continue to rely on one another, and I'll try my best to help you both out, okay?"_

 _The two were unsure about how to react to this. Essentially, Sara had just asked if it was okay to adopt them and make them part of her family, but in a way it seemed more fair to them then it did to her. It was like she somehow knew of their bond as siblings, and that they wouldn't want to separate._

 _Ben decided to speak up. "But aren't you too busy being an adventurer or archeologist to be able to look after two kids? I'm not sure I would want to be adopted by somebody that is never home."_

" _It's true that I don't spend much time at my actual house," Sara said, "and that is why I would bring you two along with me. I would bring you everywhere around the world, where you can learn much more about our world through experience, while still learning with each other about everything. We would all be together, almost all the time. Does that sound good?"_

 _Once again, Sara had shocked the two into silence, in which she chuckled. She then held out her hand to the two, just like before, with a small smile once more plastered across her face. "So what do you say, want to join me on my next adventure?"_

 _After a second of looking at each other, an understanding of sorts between the two of them, they then turned to Sara and agreed, shaking her hand. Sara's smile grew, and the empty part of it was gone from what Ben could see, as she went to go through the paperwork of adopting the siblings._

 _Soon after, the two were placed in the care of Sara, and they began to travel as well. Whenever Sara wasn't flooded by paperwork involving her job, she was spending more time to get to know the two, while still providing them with plenty of entertainment. Tv, books, even some games, while still having several workbooks to improve their knowledge, the two siblings had plenty to do while Sara was busy._

 _Now, even with all this extra free time while getting to see sights most children their age could only dream of seeing, that didn't mean the two were going uneducated. Sara ensured that the two were always learning, what with their online classes. However, unlike most classes, these classes always had what the two enjoyed to learn available, while having the necessary requirements like math learned at a lesser extent._

 _The children were content with their new lives, and Sara was glad to have company with her wherever she traveled. Slowly, over the years, the three grew attached to each other, to the point where they even called Sara their mother, which brought tears to her eyes the first time they did._

 _Speed up to present day, Sara was leading the two into a recently discovered underground castle in Europe, after ensuring it would be safe for the two. Sara hadn't discovered the castle herself, but had instead been given permission to explore it by a colleague of hers in the archeology department._

 _However, unbeknownst to any of them, there was a secret chamber in that tomb, one that hadn't been touched for centuries. This tomb would soon be discovered by the two children, who would be having an adventure of their own, whether they wanted it or not…_

"Wow mom! This place is so cool!" Ben shouted out, looking around. Hanging off of the cracked stone walls around him were fading tapestries, with old rotten wooden shelves threatening to topple at the slightest touch. "Sure, it's all rotted and such, but just imagine the fact that real knights, like those of the Templars!"

Sara smiled at this as Athena looked closely at the walls, fascinated by how the structure was still standing after all this time, even as moss and other plants threatened to break through its strong surface. "Yes, it really is quite fascinating. There were also several artifacts located here as well, such as swords and shields, but they've already been taken away for various studies and museums."

"Is there a map of the structure?" Sara asked softly. "I'd like to see how much of the structure survived after such a time. Maybe it had something with the way they built everything, or maybe they just had a stronger stone than others…"

Sara nodded as she rubbed the top of Athena's head, tousling around her hair. "Of course sweetie. I made the same conclusion when I first arrived. Stay here you two, and feel free to look around while I go fetch my notes. Just be certain to not touch anything, and don't go into any hallways. We still need to reinforce those before heading deeper into the castle with our equipment, and I don't need you two getting hurt on accident."

"Of course mom." The two said simultaneously. Sara grinned at the two as they glared at one another, disliking it whenever they spoke at the same time. She knew they wouldn't get into any troubles, not since the snake incident with that temple in Egypt...Sara shook her head, trying to forget that memory and the one time she had to actually discipline the two, since they had headed into a dangerous chamber on accident.

After Sara left, the two continued to check out the castle. As Athena took out a sketch pad and began drawing her best rendition of the faded tapestry, Ben began to feel along the stone walls, as if looking for something.

Athena tried to focus on her drawing, though with her brother constantly moving around in her range of sight, she couldn't focus. After a certain time of this, she closed her book and stared at her brother with a raised eyebrow. "And just _what_ is it you are trying to do now?" She asked.

Ben shrugged casually. "Well, you know how some castles have hidden caches stored behind walls? I'm trying to see if maybe there was something mom and her coworkers missed, like a hidden room opened by a pressed in stone or something."

Athena rolled her eyes as she started to lean against the opposite wall. "Really bro? You know they have echo devices and such, right? If there were any in this area, they would have already been found by no…" Athena stopped talking as the stone behind her pressed into the wall, giving way under her weight.

Quickly stepping away, a look of surprise crossed Athena's face as Ben grinned, the wall beginning to press inwards and slide away, revealing a dark tunnel. Ben began to fetch out a flashlight as Athena grabbed his arm. "No, don't even think about going in. We should wait for mom to show up, and then maybe later as a group we can all go in and explore."

"Look, I'll just go in real quick, see what's in there, and then be back out before mom even knows we were gone. And hey, if you're so worried for my safety, come with me. Together we can keep each other safe, just like we always have."

Athena looked uncertainwith Ben's plan, but she could still hear the determination in his voice. Besides, she was a bit curious herself, and it would allow them to see any artifacts before they were taken away by professionals…

Sighing, Athena nodded, before sternly looking at Ben. "Alright, but if it looks too unstable or mom begins calling for us, we go back right away. And if we get in trouble, you better take the blame for this. Remember the snake incident in Egypt?"

Ben rolled his eyes. "This is nothing like the snake incident. Besides, there aren't any cobras around here, so come on!" With that, Ben began to descend into the castle depths, his way lit only by his flashlight as Athena followed close behind.

It was obvious that nobody had been down this way yet, as there were plenty of cobwebs hanging from the stone, along with the lack of taped marking left by professionals marking where they've been.

As they went deeper and deeper, new marking began to adorn the walls, and the stone seemed to change. Instead of bricks of stone like the castle, this stone seemed to blend together, like it was a natural stone tunnel. The change was so sudden that both Ben and Athena barely noticed it at first, until they realized that the tunnel was nothing like what they had been in before.

"Wow...what do you think these markings are?" Ben asked, looking at the strange pictures and markings across the walls. "And are those...dragons?" Sure enough, several of the stone markings in the walls around them depicted dragons of all shapes and sizes.

"It would appear so. It would make sense, as the Western dragons did begin appearing in medieval legends. But they weren't exactly worshipped, and this chamber looks to be older than the rest of the castle. I honestly have no idea what this tunnel is. Maybe we should go back and ask mom about it?" Athena asked.

Ben shook his head. "Not yet. I think we're almost at the end. Once we see what's there, we can go back and tell mom all about this." Athena nodded, agreeing with him. Sure, she _could_ have brought Ben back by force, but she had to admit that she wanted to see where the tunnel led as well.

Little known to either of them, the door that had led them into the secret tunnel began to close, sealing them and the tunnel off from the outside. The only thing stopping it from closing fully was Athena's pen, which had dropped out of her sketchbook when she wasn't looking. However, to the untrained eye, it would just look like the pen was sticking out of a crack in the stone wall.

With the markings becoming more apparent, with the different types of dragons becoming more distinct. "How do you think these markings have survived time so well? Most would have at least _slightly_ faded away by now, don't you think?" Ben asked.

"Yes, they should at least be showing some decay. Who knows though, maybe whoever made them created some kind of permanent ink. But still, it is still quite interest….what's that?" Athena suddenly stopped, looking at the strange sight before them.

In a small room of sorts stood in front of them several pedestals circling the center, which had a large dragon drawn onto the center coiling around itself in a circle. Several of the pedestals were blank however, with only two or three of them actually having something on them.

While Ben began looking at the pedestals with interest, Athena began to look at the drawing of the coiled dragon on the ground. It was the weirdest dragon she had ever seen, yet it seemed...familiar, somehow. It was grey, with large wings and long spikes going down its neck. It had crooked horns, like lightning bolts, and it appeared to have clouds across its scales. "Hey Ben, don't you think this dragon kind of looks like that one that mom…."

Athena stopped when she saw her brother, who looked like he was about to grab a white orb with a black center that was on top of one of the pedestals. "BEN! Don't you even think about touching that! You know we aren't supposed to touch artifacts without permission!" As Athena said this, she rushed forward to stop her brother.

Neither of them saw the single claw that suddenly rose up from the ground from the picture, which ended up tripping Athena. This caused her to collide with Ben, forcing them both forward and into the strange orb.

Both of them suddenly cried out as a strange light overtook them and a sharp pain shot through their bodies. A moment later, the two were gone, leaving the chamber empty once more.

Meanwhile, on the outside of the chamber, back in the empty tomb of the abandoned castle, Sara returned with the map, only to find that her kids were missing. "Athena? Ben?" She called out, quickly placing the notes into her bag before looking around. "Where are you two?!" Beginning to panic, with fears of a repeat of the snake incident, Sara began searching in earnest for her children, meanwhile calling for her associates to help her look.

 _Meanwhile, in Pyrrhia, at the Jade Mountain school…_

Caiman and Panda looked around at the school with excitement, meanwhile Static and Singularity smiled at the two before turning to continue talking with Tsunami, who was the head of the school. They had decided to enroll the two for the next year of school, as it was currently out at the moment, and next year the two would finally be old enough to attend the school.

Static, finding a break in the conversation with Tsunami, turned to the two. "Feel free to look around you two. Just be sure not to go anywhere you shouldn't, and not to make a mess anywhere. Now go have fun you two."

"Thanks dad!" The two shouted out before running into the school. Static and Singularity were happy to see the two were excited to attend the school, and went back to talking to Tsunami, who was mainly just happy to talk to some friends again.

As they began to check out the rooms, Panda grinned maliciously at Caiman. "Bet I can see more of the school before you can!" She said.

Caiman grinned right back at her, the competitive spirit between siblings igniting. "You're on!" He said, and so the two began rushing through the school. Going through the history, science and various living rooms and quarters, the two continued to have fun while seeing so many fascinating sights. Both were fascinated by the large pool, along with the library where Starflight was currently sorting out a new shipment of scrolls.

After seeing several of the actual rooms, the two raced through the stone tunnels, trying to see more of the school than the other. Finally, after going through several of the tunnels, the two approached the end of a blocked off tunnel. "There….I beat you.." Panda said, panting with exhaustion.

"Nuh...uh...No you didn't. There's still...one last tunnel! And I'm...going to see it first!" Caiman said, before rushing towards a blocked off tunnel.

Panda's eyes widened as she rushed after her brother, knowing that they weren't supposed to go down that way. "Caiman, wait up! We're not supposed to go that way! It could be dangerous!"

Caiman laughed as he began to go down the tunnel, his sister close behind. "Danger is just what I need! Maybe by facing a little danger, I'll finally have my own adventure like dad and mom!"

"That's no reason for us to get in trouble, now come back...oof!" Panda suddenly stopped as she crashed into her brother, causing the two to roll over one another into a stone chamber. After recovering and rubbing her head, Panda looked down at her brother and smacked him across the head. "Hey, what do you think you're doing, stopping for no reason?"

Caiman pointed ahead of them. "Who are those two?" He asked, causing Panda to look up. In front of them were two dragonets, looking about their age, though they looked different from any dragons they had ever seen.

Each dragon was different. The first one, who was slightly larger than the other, was covered in white scales with black accents across his wings and scales. Meanwhile, the second dragon was the opposite, being a bit smaller with black scales with white accents across her wings and scales. They both looked different from any other tribe they knew of, even the ones from Pantala.

They were also both unconscious. Panda looked down at Caiman. "We should go get dad. These two might need our help." Caiman nodded, and after getting off of him, the two ran off to get their father.

Little did they know that those two weren't normal dragons in more ways than one, and would soon be the cause of the two going on their first adventure. However, this journey, much like the ones their parents had faced, would be filled with much peril and dangers which would make them realize that sometimes, being the main character of an adventure isn't always a good thing.

This is a story much like others. Tales like this have been told before, but the consequences of these stories have never been spoken in depth. This is the story of four children, forced together through unlikely circumstances, and how their alliance would lead to the start of a new war in Pyrrhia, and how it would be up to them to end it before it ended them and the ones they love.

 _To be continued in Wings of Fire: Balance_

 **Author's Note: So that's how I plan to continue the story if I ever get back into writing fanfiction. Now, I know many of you probably want this story to continue, especially with this new continuation. However, I do have other projects to work on, and life is going to get busy for me soon, so I won't even be able to write as much as I wish I could. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed Lightning Striking, and thank you all so much for supporting this story. Now, to answer a few questions.**

 **Q: How do you write a story like** _ **Lightning Striking**_ **or other fanfics?**

 **A: The main thing you want to do if you want to become a fellow writer is to stay dedicated to your story. Come up with an idea, expand upon it, and write what you think would happen. Stay determined and set times of certain days where you can just write and expand your story, and once you have enough, post it online if you want to. Even if you get bad comments, you should stay determined. I would like to say that your first few stories don't really count, as they should be a learning experience for you to improve and and expand your writing. Stay dedicated to your story, no matter what, and only stop when you think you should honestly end your story. Anyone can write a story, it just takes time and a little bit of effort is all.**

 **Now, back when I was given oc's to use for the story, I was mainly told that several of the characters given to me would be great in a story, but the owners of several characters didn't think they could give their character a good story. That's where I say heck no, because every character I was given was well thought out, and I could tell that every one of them could have been given great stories by great people. You just need to put a little faith in yourself is all.**

 **Q: How did you get the story to be so long?**

 **A: Like I said, dedication. I made myself write every chapter to be at least 10 google doc pages long (aka roughly 5,000 words). I then ensured I wrote until the story was finished, which turned to be roughly 50 chapters, much to my surprise. Honestly, it's all about setting a goal for yourself, and then expanding upon that idea.**

 **Anyway, thank you all so, so much for everything. I couldn't have done all of this without you, as I've told you several times before, and I'm sure it's getting a bit old to hear by now. So, with thanks over, I guess this is goodbye for now. So thanks, and with that,** _ **Lightning Striking**_ **is finished.**


	51. Contest

Contest

Hello readers and fans of Wings of Fire: Lightning Striking. It is I, thegamersdragon. It has been awhile since I have written anything on this cite, however, this isn't for the reason that you might think it is.

However, before I get into what this is about, I'd like to thank all of you _so much_ for your continued support of this story. Due to all of you, the readers, this story is the number one WoF fanfic on this website, and that's something that wouldn't be possible without any of you. Even now, whenever I'm having a bad day, I look at this story and smile at what we were able to accomplish.

Now, I know that most of you want more of this story, especially with the cliffhanger I left it on. Sadly, I must explain a few things involving Wings of Fire: Balance, the idea I had for a continuation to Lightning Striking. First of all, Balance was a very loose idea I had for a sequel series to the original, and that was before the third arc had started. Due to that, I am uncertain about the timeline of things, but since it is a fanfic, certain things could be changed or ignored. However, there is one other issue I would like to discuss.

Unfortunately, I do not have the inspiration to create a sequel to Lightning Striking, or any fanfiction for that matter, at least for the moment. Currently I am attempting to create some original ideas, and I almost have enough to start my first real story. I still heavily enjoy fanfiction and Wings of Fire, but I just don't have the inspiration to write another story like I did with Lightning Striking.

I do know that many of you want more of this story however, and every time I get a comment concerning the story, it pains me to know that I can't give you what you want to read. As I said at the beginning, if it wasn't for you, the readers, this story wouldn't be where it is today, and I wouldn't be as inspired to write as much as I do now.

So, with all of this in mind, I came up with an idea. I will hold a contest, a writing contest, to determine who will continue to write this story in my stead.

First of all, this contest is entirely optional, and you should only participate if you meet two requirements: First, that you want to write an entry, and two, that you are willing to write and update the story (it doesn't haven't to be weekly like I did, but should at least be monthly).

Now, concerning the contest itself, here is what will be done. A short story involving at least one of the original characters from Wings of Fire: Lightning Striking must be written. This can be literally any of the characters, from Jack to Singularity. This story can be about almost anything as long as it stays within the rated T category. Anything I deem too inappropriate will be disqualified. Regardless, the concept is some kind of small misadventure involving one of those characters.

Secondly, the story must be at least a decent length. You have to remember that writing isn't easy, and people like more content to enjoy. The longer, the better, as long as it isn't boring.

Now, before I continue, let me also state this: I know some of you can do this, but as you read, you might feel uncertain about your abilities and if you can become a writer yourself. I've talked with some of you in the past, and let me say this: I _know_ some of you can be great writers. You just have to give it a try. If you fail, so what? At least you enjoyed creating something original, and you put effort into something for others. Take pride in your abilities, even if you don't know if you have them or not.

Continuing with the contest, the way entries can be submitted can be done through either a private message to me, or if it's too long or you feel brave enough, can be posted with "WoF:LS" in the title, then private message me informing me of the entry.

Now, some more details about the contest. First of all, this contest will be open until June 7th. Why that day you ask? That's the day I graduate from high school (yes, I know, I'm old). Another reason for that date is so to give everyone that wants to participate plenty of time to write, though I don't recommend procrastinating until the last week of the challenge. After all, I have to have time to carefully make a decision.

Secondly, this challenge is _not_ to own the WoF: Lightning Striking story. This contest is to find a writer who can write its sequel, and continue the story where I left it. Due to this, the person I deem the winner will be given my notes on the characters, ideas I had for the story where I left it, and will be able to message me to ask not only for ideas and suggestions, but also if they want someone to edit a chapter for them.

Now, to go over the list of everything so we're all clear about the contest, and so I can double check to make sure I got everything:

-Write a short story involving the WoF: LS characters. Can be almost anything, probably being some kind of misadventure involving one of them.

-Story must be appropriate. Anything above T rating will be disqualified.

-Story must be a decent length. Anything too short I'll read and give suggestions for how it can be improved, but won't be considered a serious entry (don't stress too much about that though, for as long as I can't read it under a minute, you should be good).

-Story must be submitted via either private message or through the website with WoF:LS in the title, with a message then being sent to me so I know it's there.

-The last day for contest entries will be June 7th, 2019. Anything sent after that will not qualify.

-I will choose one winner for the contest, though there will be honorable mentions to the best stories.

-The winner will be given my notes on the characters of WoF: LS as well as the ideas I had for its continuation. They will have the _option_ (they don't have to) to ask me for ideas and editing of chapters.

-This contest isn't all serious. Find enjoyment in writing an entry, and don't stress too much about it. I know many of you can be and are great writers, and I would love to see what you can do with the characters from my story.

-If you have any other questions, pm me and I'll do my best to answer.

I've created this contest so we can finally see more from Lightning Striking, but I can't be the author for it. But I know that many of you can. So please, if you want to, write a story, submit it, and who knows? Maybe you'll win. I know many of you can do this, and I look forward to seeing what all of you come up with.

Write on, contestors, and may the best writer win.

-Thegamersdragon


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